As the primary creative agency, we worked with the Car Care Council to build awareness of the program with Californians to encourage them to help the environment.
CAMPAIGN DETAILS
Client
Car Care Council
Our Role
Creative + Media
Timeline
July 2018 – Present
Tasks
Strategy
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Web Design
Media Buying
Event Coordination
Analytics
Video Production
Graphic Design
Copy Writing
Motion Design
Audio Production
Social Media Strategy
In May 2018, the Car Care Council was asked to create and implement a California statewide consumer education campaign to increase the number of used small containers of r134a vehicle refrigerant returned by consumers to automotive retail businesses to collect their $10 deposit.
The purpose of the campaign is to address the fact that each year thousands of vehicle owners and operators (DIY’ers) in California elect to recharge their vehicle’s air conditioner themselves, purchasing the r134a refrigerant in small containers from major auto parts retailers and other “big box” retail businesses. Due to concerns that the small containers typically are not completely emptied during the recharging process and that the unused refrigerant could be vented to the atmosphere or the used cans could be thrown away rather than properly recycled, The California Air Resource Board (CARB) established a regulation to reduce these refrigerant emissions. Among the regulation’s requirements are a deposit and recycling program and a consumer education program that emphasizes best practices for vehicle air conditioning recharging by DIY’ers.
Requirements for the deposit and return of containers call for retailers to collect a $10 deposit from the consumer at the time of the sale, then return the deposit to the consumer upon receipt of the used container.
The manufacturers of the small containers of refrigerant designated the Car Care Council to create and execute a consumer education campaign in California on their behalf.
Our mission was to get consumers to finish the job and cash in the can.
Return Can. Get Paid. Help Planet.
Admittedly, this was a tough one to tackle. Unlike a message that requires little explanation, the specificity of this one required us to find a balance between short and sweet, while having the resources and creative to help expand the conversation. By using short bold statements and simple art direction, we successfully created enough curiosity to drive people to those resources.
Mascot Development
After several months involving exhaustive research, four creative directions, and six focus groups split between Sacramento and Los Angeles; It was clear…the Polar Bear needed to be a big part of the campaign. And so, Artie, the Cash in the Can Polar Bear, was born!
Outdoor Creative
It was clear from the focus groups that a bold and simple look was important. They just wanted the message delivered to them in a very straightforward and no nonsense way possible. We used a combination of digital freeway and static surface street boards. The strategy for the surface street boards being strategically place as close to automotive store as possible.
Audio Production
In addition to the memorability of Artie Bear image, we really wanted to push the memorability of such a great awareness message. And since Mercenary Creative Group has a professional recording studio, we felt that a jingle was appropriate. The team was so inspired, they not only created one jingle, but three! One was a new wave garage band sound, while the others had country and early soul influences. The results speak for themselves.
TV/Video
Since we developed Artie as a full on cartoon character, it made sense to create a video/commercial that allowed us to bring him to life, on screen. To push the production value to another level, we added live-action elements with real people interacting with Artie. Adding the actors along with custom designed props, a custom jingle, and interesting wardrobe choices, makes this a truly engaging visual tool to get the message out.
