The Challenge

Welcome Snoop

The brief was to give MTV Networks Australia a local tone of voice. And the challenge was to do this in a way that was not traditional advertising. This was important given their young audience is largely cynical when it comes to brands ‘understanding’ them.

Our Solution

Our strategy was to put a controversial MTV icon into the Australian culture, and stir the pot. The icon was rapper Snoop Dogg, and the creative vehicle would be his fight for Australian citizenship. This idea created a storm of controversy and PR for MTV Networks Australia.

It also actively involved the audience in the MTV Australia brand and allowed them to have a voice in Snoop’s fight. The idea brought to life the prospect of Snoop moving to Australia and motivated the audience to fight his cause.

The Results

More bling than at Snoop’s place

The Welcome Snoop campaign proved incredibly successful. Over 410,593 viewers were driven to a dedicated website alone — equating to 16.9% of the target market in Australia.

It generated a total of 5,500,000 campaign interactions and created a hive of media attention around MTV Australia, activating a movement among the target audience to help MTV fight Snoop’s cause.

The campaign elevated MTV brand awareness to its highest point in history. The free PR alone was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the idea attracted over three times more MTV channel subscribers than the previous year.

This campaign won a Gold Lion in the Promotions category and a Silver Lion in the Direct category at the 2008 Cannes Festival, the world’s most prestigious advertising award.