Teens Encouraged To Embrace Their ‘Vimto Spirit’ In Quirky New Campaign By Quiet Storm

Quirky vignettes celebrating unconventional individuals expressing their ‘Vimto Spirit’ feature in a new campaign by Quiet Storm for the refreshingly different soft drinks brand. 

The new strategy is based on the insight that Vimto’s target audience feel under pressure to be something they’re not, when all they really want is to be recognised and accepted for the individuals they are.

The campaign plays on the individuality of the teenage demographic by subverting expectations. It offers the audience an opportunity to engage with Vimto – and participate in the campaign – across a number of different media, with each medium working in a different but complementary way.

It breaks with executions including TV, cinema, digital, experiential, social, print and VOD. A teaser element appeared in early May on Vimto’s social channels and in local press in Manchester, inviting fans to audition to feature in the campaign. 

The television ad instructs viewers to close their eyes in order to enjoy it. Viewers who break the rules and ignore the instruction are rewarded with a series of vignettes celebrating unconventional individuals expressing their inner Vimto Spirit, including some of the winners from the Manchester auditions. 

The cinema campaign also tells viewers to close their eyes but the creative references the specific film that the audience is there to watch. For Channel 4’s video-on-demand service All4, Quiet Storm has created a media first by personalising ads both with the audio and the video. 

Similarly, the digital campaign, which runs across sites relevant to teenage audiences, features a banner instructing web users not to click it. Those who ignore this will gain access to exciting additional Vimto video content building on the TV ad. 

Emma Hunt, Head of Marketing at Vimto said: “This new campaign targets our core target audience in an innovative and contemporary way by celebrating the quirky, free spirited individuals who are prepared to release their inner ‘Vimto Spirit’. Everyone has a spark of difference but unfortunately there are many pressures to suppress it. 

“Our disruptive new campaign looks set to break new ground, and is certain to make an impact and continue to drive the Vimto brand.” 

Trevor Robinson, Founder and Executive Creative Director of Quiet Storm, and Matt Mifsud, Creative Director said: “Not every client would trust their agency to launch a campaign telling the audience not to watch or to click, so big up to Vimto for living their brand value of being refreshingly different. Inclusivity and fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive, so it’s great to be able to reintroduce some levity while also promoting and celebrating self-acceptance, individuality and that says it’s OK to be you.”

Jon Howard, Planning Director at Quiet Storm, said: “Our research discovered that lots of teens feel under pressure to be something they’re not, with their peers, social media, school and parents all pulling in different directions. What we are doing with this Vimto campaign is giving them an outlet from the expectations of teen life today and the freedom to just be themselves.”

‘I see Vimto in You’ is supported by £3M national multi-media campaign, it will reach over 3 million teens across the country. It will break new ground with its unique personalised advertising across cinema and VOD, as well as experiential sampling, social influencer programme, a personalised Snapchat lens and partnership with UNILAD. This will see the Vimto brand back on TV, with the launch spot appearing in Love Island on the 4th June. 

The campaign runs nationally for nine weeks with media planning and buying handled by Wavemaker Manchester. Tangerine and N20 are leading the social and experiential initiatives.