MYTH HUNTERS - A TALE OF TWO CAMPAIGNS IN ONE
Probably the most varied and interesting campaign I’ve ever worked on, this one stands out because it transformed halfway through, yet retained much of its original deliverables and characters in some territories. It was essentially a multiple personality campaign.
Having identified a robust taste for action-loving, dynamic history stories across East Europe and Russia, we started out with a simple, hard-hitting approach, using the Knight lunging with his sword as our key visual for posters, web banners and key visuals. On-air we created a clip-based promo from the three episodes we had from the series, sadly the least exciting ones, and played out behind the scenes viral films and interviews that I had shot during the making of the series with World Media Rights, along with the above key visual for posters and banners online and on the dedicated facebook page ahead of the promo campaign slot to increase brand awareness.
All of which played well across those territories, particularly the fabric banners hung at museums and jousting tournaments across East Europe, with the BTS films generating likes in the hundreds of thousands.
In early research however, the image was considered too suggestive of violence for a Scandinavian audience, and the promo lacking in mystery and excitement. We were stuck. With only the weakest episodes, there was little chance to depict the great range of amazing stories. Added to which, further research and marketing insights informed us that viewers would respond particularly well to local stories.
Back to the drawing board – and with a tiny budget – I brainstormed concepts for a shoot. We hit upon the explorer’s desk, in the style of Indiana Jones, whereby the map on the wall could serve as a way in to the various stories that took place across Europe.
We commissioned the fantasticBlink TV to produce the awesome 3D recreations of stories such as the hunt for Ivan the Terrible’s lost library beneath the Moscow metro, and the hunt for King Arthur’s bones in Glastonbury.
Ultimately we ended up then with a double-sided campaign, with the blood n swords approach working across East Europe and the Treasure and Mystery approach working better in Scandinavia.