We’re now one full year into COVID, and video calls as the de facto method of communicating with co-workers, friends and family.
Zoom alone now claims 300 million daily active users, while Microsoft Teams claims 115 million and Google Meets claims 100 million people. That works out to about 7% of the global population using some form of video conferencing tool every single day.
Video conferencing is clearly here to stay for the foreseeable future, which has led to a lot of careful staging of bookshelves, or coming up with the perfect witty background (mine so far this year have included the exterior of Four Seasons Total Landscaping and this picture, allowing you to channel your inner Kevin or Toby from The Office).
But any technological advancement invariably comes with hiccups, and one of the most common in video calling is frozen faces. They are seldom flattering: mouths ajar, eyes half-closed, hand mid-gesture. It’s like your mom’s warning about those goofy faces you made as a kid sticking that way come true, and often a source of considerable hilarity for others on the Zoom call.
Frozen faces, then, have become a genuine phenomenon in the past year, and a marketing opportunity for Kraft Heinz Canada’s frozen meals brand Crave. Working with Rethink, Carat for media and The Colony Project for PR, Crave has tapped into the funny side of video chats with an online contest inviting Canadians to submit their best frozen face at FrozenScreenFace.ca for a chance to win one of its frozen meals.
“March marks the one-year anniversary of meetings, classes and hangouts moving from in-person to virtual and, while technology has allowed us to stay connected, we’ve all experienced that awkward frozen face,” said Brian Neumann, senior manager, brand build and innovation with Kraft Heinz Canada, in a release.
“As the most delicious frozen meal, Crave saw an opportunity to tap into this universally relatable pain point and show the world that frozen doesn’t have to suck.” It’s an invitation, then, for Canadians to put on a brave face, even if it’s kind of goofy looking.
