Who: Arterra Wines Canada, DentsuBos (creative), Craft Public Relations and DentsuX for media.
What: A launch campaign for Arterra’s new French wine brand, Félix & Lucie. The launch positioning is inspired by a French law requiring companies with more than 50 employees to establish hours when staff should not send or answer work e-mails. The creative (outdoor and social) is built around the tagline “Joie is Key” and a heart-shaped lock. The campaign also includes a fashion accessory: “Wine pants.”
When & Where: The Ontario-focused campaign is in market now for the rest of the month (outdoor focused on Ottawa and Toronto). The “wine pants” are a limited-edition product, but can be ordered now.
Why: Félix & Lucie wants to be about disconnecting from work and connecting with friends/loved ones. “The creative idea was born out of a French ‘right to disconnect’—where employees have the right to turn off e-mails after work hours to spend time with what matters to them,” said Lyranda Martin-Evans, DentsuBos VP and executive CD. “It’s that joie de vivre spirit that Félix & Lucie champions.” There’s no such law in Canada but we could use one: According to Leger, the average salaried or self-employed worker in Canada spends seven hours a week doing work related tasks outside of work.
How: There are several elements to the campaign, including out-of-home, social and digital advertising. Creative includes headlines like: “Less Company Time. More Time for Company.” It’s only running after 6 p.m. and on weekends, “reminding people to take time for themselves,” said Martin-Evans. A PR and influencer push included declaring Wednesday the “Day to Disconnect”—encouraging Canadians to leave work at 5 p.m. and reconnect with the things that really matter. And did we mention there’s “wine pants”?
Okay, so what are “wine pants”? Glad you asked. Developed with Canadian fashion designer Hayley Elsaesser, the $98 pants include a “lock pocket” that blocks cell signals. Elsaesser appeared on CTV’s The Social last Friday to unveil the pants. “Wine Pants came about after untapping a human truth—that moment you come home and peel off your ‘work clothes’ and into clothes that make you feel comfortable and yourself,” said Martin-Evans. “To truly allow you to turn off your work brain and connect with a good book or great friends, a pocket was created that when your smartphone slides into, your signal is ‘locked,'” she said.
And we quote: “Emails, Skype, Slack… We are so connected these days that we are never truly off when it comes to work. But, study after study shows that you are most productive and creative at work when you allow your brain to properly recharge. —Lyranda Martin-Evans.