Digiday Winner’s Circle: We Are Social and #OursToLose

Digiday’s awards honor the best work in marketing, video, content marketing, publishing and advertising. Winner’s Circle is a series that puts the spotlight on Digiday Awards winners: After the ceremony is over and all the champagne is gone, we ask each winner five questions about the campaign that won them their top honor.

Enough with the polar bears — what about the wine? For the YouTube video #OursToLose, social media agency We Are Social wanted to show people what was truly at stake if humanity doesn’t act on climate change. Done in support of the Cop21 climate change summit in Paris in November 2015, the video highlights all the fun things that will be lost if nothing is done: wine, chocolate, New Zealand and coffee are just the tip of the melting iceberg. Featuring YouTube stars Casey Neistat and Flavia Calina, the video has racked up over 3 million views to date and won Best Brand/Influencer Campaign at the 2016 Digiday Content Marketing Awards. David Feldman, associate creative director at We Are Social’s London office, told us about how the winning video came to life.

What was the “ah-ha!” moment that led to the creation of this campaign?
We all know about the dangers of climate change. Yet how many of us feel compelled enough to do something about it? We needed to get personal and change the conversation from polar bears to things that people really cared about, like coffee, chocolate and wine. These were all ours to lose if we didn’t get people to act and sign the petition which would get shown to world leaders at the Cop21 climate change summit in Paris.

What was the most fun part of working on this campaign?
Seeing it take off and dominate the conversation on social. It’s always fun when a campaign works, but when you get to impact the world in a positive way, it’s an extra special and rare feeling that you’d be silly not to savor.

What about this project kept you up at night?
Coffee. Chocolate. Wine.

What did you learn during this campaign that you will apply to future work?
Don’t force your message or brand on people. Make it relevant to them on a personal level.

Which (other) advertising campaign do you wish you had thought of?
Wieden+Kennedy’s ‘Jeff Bridges Sleeping Tapes’. It shows how easy it is to build a great website with Squarespace, even if the subject of the site is totally bonkers (which it is). It’s the perfect product demo told in an imaginative, silly and shareable way.

Learn more about our awards programs by clicking here.

https://digiday.com/?p=194537

More in Awards

Digitas, Critical Mass and Twitch are among the 2024 Digiday Awards winners 

This year’s winners showcase the most innovative trends in brand engagement, from creating interactive experiences that draw consumers into the narrative to leveraging cross-platform strategies that expand reach and impact. Data-driven personalization allows brands to connect with specific audiences, while emotional storytelling fosters deep bonds with consumers. The campaigns also stood out for their global […]

Ancestry, Cécred and United Airlines are among the 2024 Greater Good Awards finalists

The 2024 Greater Good Awards are presented by Digiday, Glossy, Modern Retail and WorkLife, and showcase the work being done around social causes, its impact, and ultimately those working toward the greater good. This year’s finalists exemplify the powerful themes driving change across industries. From empowering communities through education to fostering economic equity and opportunity, […]

Amazon, Forbes Media, EssenceMediacom and Universal Pictures are finalists for this year’s Digiday Awards

This year, interactive and immersive experiences that engage storytelling have become essential for brands to connect directly with audiences. Finalists for the 2024 Digiday Awards have also leaned on cross-platform collaboration, data-driven personalization and culturally relevant elements to ensure brand messaging is both meaningful and impactful. For instance, finalists Illumination, Universal Pictures and Amazon embraced […]