Who: Girl Guides of Canada, with Zulu Alpha Kilo, music and audio by SNDWRx, OMD for media, and spPR Inc. for PR.
What: “The Fire Songs,” a new campaign reimagining campfire songs that “celebrate the fire of girls.” The campaign is being presented with three fire emojis instead of the word “fire.”
When & Where: The campaign is running on paid media using YouTube TrueView, as well as donated media including a mix of standard banners and 15-second videos, plus PSA inventory across national English TV.
Why: This campaign is about breathing new life into a historic brand and celebrating the possibility (fingers crossed) that the worst of Covid is behind us and we’ll soon be able to resume some social activities. According to a release, the campaign is meant to show “how amazing things happen when girls get together.”
“We know when girls have a safe space to gather, they discover so much—about themselves and their potential,” said Heather Segal, executive strategy director at Zulu Alpha Kilo. “With almost two years apart, we wanted to reignite that energy of discovery and play.”
How: There are three new songs and two music videos offering a modern take on traditional campfire songs and referencing contemporary themes like equality and inclusion, speaking up, and individuality. The videos were directed by Juno-winning director Emma Higgins.
The first track, “Girls Lets Go” is described as a “loud and unignorable” update of “Bingo.” The concert-inspired video features the five girls who recorded the songs—possessing the confidence, swagger and alt-fashions of Billie Eilish—belting out lyrics like: “I got a lotta things to say and I’ma say ‘em, ‘cause when we stick together, yeah, we can have everything,” and a repeated refrain of “They’ll never soften our glow.”
The next song and video will be “We Come to Play” (based on “Down By the Bay”), followed by “The Girls on the Bus” (based on “Wheels on the Bus”). In addition to the music videos, Zulu Alpha Kilo created GIPHYs and posters, and the songs will also be featured on Spotify and YouTube.
“It was important that we created music and videos that are so good, any band would be proud of them,” said Brian Murray, executive creative director, Zulu Alpha Kilo, in the release. “That’s how we brought to life the magic of what happens when girls come together.”
And we quote: “Turning these well-known songs into girl-power fire songs gives us a special new way to reach out to girls and show them what it feels like to be a Girl Guide. The feeling you get when you connect and belong and are having the kind of fun that so many girls are looking for right now.” —Jill Zelmanovits, chief executive officer, Girl Guides of Canada
