Spec Sales
Creative Brief: Write creative, eye-catching copy that sells a key Duck Duck Go feature: secure web browsing. The copy should focus on three Duck Duck Go products: the browser, the browser extension, and the private search engine. The campaign will be advertised in public transit systems, such as the TTC and MiWay, across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Target Audience: Young, college-going and professional men and women in the 20-30 years age bracket. They use public transit and digital products, such as internet browsers and e-commerce websites, regularly. They are aware of, and increasingly concerned about, the trade-off between personal privacy and the convenience provided by these products.
Campaign Effectiveness Evaluation / Conversion Measurement: The campaign’s success can be evaluated by the increase in the number of mobile browser downloads (via various app stores), visits to the Duck Duck Go Canada website from within the GTA, and the number of browser extension installations across the region in the three months after launch.
The Product:
Duck Duck Go is an internet privacy company that offers products essential for the modern internet user. The company provides digital products, such as an internet browser and a search engine, promising to protect users’ privacy.
This means no personalized ads or targeted advertising, which are usually enabled by internet companies tracking users’ online behaviour.
Furthermore, users are not tracked, in and out of the Duck Duck Go browser’s “private browsing” mode. Lastly, these digital tools do not store users’ personal information.
The Solution:
First-person humour combined with ironic contrast is at the core of my creative solution. The contrast comes from using real-world, old-school objects like teapots and surfboards that perform functions similar to those enabled by Duck Duck Go products in the virtual sphere.
The copy also utilizes the idea of opposite functions, as in Ad#1. This involves highlighting what the object (e.g. the tea pot) won’t do and connect it to the Duck Duck Go product. The connection: Neither the real-world, tangible product nor its digital counterpart “don’t do” the mentioned function.
The result:
Two advertisments, presented in two distinct presentation formats, have been produced and showcased on this page. The first is a standalone one, and the second deliberately uses a side-by-side display method intended to make an indelible mark in the viewer’s mind.
The goal, in the latter’s case, is to present a string of information in one go which ignites even a frazzled commuter’s curiosity. They then become curious enough to visit the Duck Duck Go website or download its browser on their smartphones at a more relaxed time.
Both formats account for the limited time and attention-span of commuters who are mid-transit.
Ad#1: Planned Presentation
Ad#2: Planned Presentation
Ad#2 Close-Ups
