Nick Offerman isn’t precisely recognized for a happy-go-lucky persona. The hilariously gruff actor, carpenter and writer is most frequently seen with a severe, mustachioed expression — even when he’s cracking jokes.
Carnival Cruise Line is altering that by bringing out his joyful facet in Find Your Fun Again, a brand new marketing campaign that reveals the actor reducing unfastened onboard a Carnival ship.
In the hero spot, Offerman is working in his woodshop when his telephone begins blowing up. He tells his coworkers he’s placing it on silent — then smashes it with a mallet. After an on-screen textual content overlay reads, “Find Your Fun Again,” the video cuts to Offerman shouting with glee down a waterslide, dancing with passengers, catching shrimp in his mouth at a hibachi restaurant and shaking off his stress.
It’s the primary main advertising and marketing push in seven years from CMO Amy Martin Ziegenfuss and artistic company TBWAChiatDay New York. The work introduces the brand new model platform, “Carnival is Calling,” which highlights how the corporate sees enjoyable as central to its id.
The perception behind the hassle: Many individuals really feel they’re experiencing a “fun deficit.” Carnival’s analysis discovered that 66% of individuals say they aren’t having as a lot enjoyable as they used to, and 93% imagine enjoyable is important to residing a happier life.
“Carnival Cruise Line has stood for fun for more than 50 years, and it’s an integral part of our DNA,” Ziegenfuss stated. “As we thought about positioning the brand for the future, we wanted to understand how fun shows up in people’s lives today and find a new way to talk about it.”
Ziegenfuss famous that with work stress and an on-the-go tradition, many individuals don’t unplug and unwind as usually as they need — or want — to.
When the model and company introduced the analysis perception into artistic improvement, the objective grew to become exhibiting what shoppers are lacking and galvanizing them to reclaim it.
“We explored a wide range of creative territories, and we found that we didn’t need to belabor the use of the word ‘fun,’” Ziegenfuss stated. “Instead, we wanted to create a force that feels like it’s pulling them toward something magnetic — something that feels active and urgent but in a positive way.”
The model was impressed by Carnival’s iconic purple funnel, which acts like a beacon at sea. It grew to become the spark of the concept: It honks each time a ship units sail, appearing as a set off for individuals to embrace pleasure.
Finding the appropriate lead
“We knew the whole idea hinged on someone who could really sell the moment of having a ‘fun intervention,’” Ziegenfuss stated. “Nick Offerman is one of the few people who can make that both believable and genuinely endearing. He has a lovable, grounded vibe where you buy that his friends would sit him down and say, ‘Nick, you’ve lost your fun. And we’re stepping in.’”
She added that whereas Offerman’s public persona leans stoic, he’s naturally joyful — and instantly understood the tone of the marketing campaign, bringing a refined humor to the shoot.
“Nick’s personal mission to get kids off their screens and start creating projects aligns with Carnival’s vision of encouraging people to get out, reconnect and find their fun again,” Ziegenfuss defined. “On top of that, Nick was raised in a family of cruisers, which made the fit extra special.”
One of the crew’s favourite moments was after they rigged a GoPro to comply with Offerman down a waterslide to seize his off-the-cuff strains. The actor liked it a lot he did three runs.
“It was pure fun watching him and the crew have a blast,” Ziegenfuss stated. “That energy is exactly what made the campaign, and it captures what’s so special about the experience onboard our ships.”
Extending the model platform
Other marketing campaign artistic property develop on the concept of rediscovering enjoyable. In one spot, a dad and his sons sit in a darkish basement taking part in video video games till a mother opens the curtains and encourages them to get exterior. The remainder of the advert reveals the household having fun with actions aboard a Carnival ship.
“They are built around the real moments we all know too well — the weekends when the kids haven’t left the basement in two days, or when you realize that the only cruise you’ve been on is cruise control,” Ziegenfuss stated. “No matter who you are, there’s a moment in your life where you need to find fun again, and we wanted those moments to feel relatable and real.”
Ziegenfuss stated this push marks the start of the evergreen “Carnival is Calling” platform, which is able to lengthen throughout social, activations and, finally, the onboard expertise.
“We would love this idea to gain cultural traction — the idea that when life gets too serious, ‘Carnival is Calling,’” Ziegenfuss stated.