Braille burgers are why I love advertising

Well I'm a little late with this find, but this little video made me so happy that I'm going to write about it anyway.



What you have here, is a case by Creativity on a campaign they did for South Africa's Wimpy. To promote a new blind-friendly menu, the agency used sesame seeds to spell out braille messages on burger buns and distributed them to 15 blind people around Johannesburg. As you'll see in the video, the results of this campaign were great, but that's not really what I'm concerned with. The reason why I love this video is because this is the type of unique, creative idea that leaves clients and consumers (and me) with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

If you've ever worked with me on a project you know I get giddy about stuff like this. This campaign paired a unique situation with a unique solution, but there's opportunity for this level of wow-factor in any campaign. You just have to dare to be a little different. It's important to take some time and determine the best mediums and technologies to use to get the greatest effect. In this case, targeting a few people who were probably chosen because of their potential reach. In the end, their reactions went viral, which is generally the goal. Sometimes leveraging a trendy new technology gets people excited. But sometimes using traditional media and building curiosity, mystery, or just a visual experience can work just as well.

If you want another good example, Mini turned a campaign for one of their cars into a game, and Coke made vending machines friendly. While you're waiting for those to load, here are some tips for how to think up better, more creative ideas:

• Understand the situation. Is the client or product or message one that needs to make a statement? Are you not currently the go-to product? Are their barriers to persuading consumers or making them aware?
• Brainstorm the right way. This process can be great or it can ruin everything. It's really a balancing act. You want to think big and not worry about being safe, but at the same time the simplest ideas can be the best. Minimalism ftw! It's also important to avoid being critical and discouraging people from being interesting. It's okay to play devil's advocate and encourage others to think a little deeper into their idea, but for the most part don't be quick to throw things away.
• Collaboration is key. There's nothing better than a session where ideas bounce back and forth between team members and you watch them evolve into something great. What I've found is that to avoid groupthink, leaders should throw out questions rather than options. This way, people can't simply agree. You can phrase questions to imply your ideas, but the main goal here is to get people participating. Sometimes an idea just comes to you, but it rarely takes full shape until you get multiple perspectives.