Droga5 New York launched a new summer campaign for Dixie entitled “#DarkForDinner” which calls on viewers to put away all devices to more fully engage with friends and family.
Inspiration for the campaign came from a survey commissioned by Dixie which found that the average consumer eats dinner without distractions only twice a month, with 20 percent of participants not doing so at all. The brand sees its ability to offer a cleanup-free dinner as eliminating one of these distractions, a point which tellingly shifts attention away from the brand’s environmental impact.
The spot at the center of the campaign shows groups of friends and family engaging in (seemingly) candid conversations, laughing and generally having a good time. An opening shot of cell phones sitting on a table establishes that their absence is to thank for the festive mood. In many of the scenarios friends and family learn new things about each other, and the spot ends by asking viewers, “What will you learn when you go dark for dinner?” adding “On Sunday, turn off your phones and find out.” An accompanying digital component instructs consumers to use the #DarkForDinner hashtag to let people know they’ll be offline, although we imagine there may be one or two oblivious individuals who miss the point and use the hashtag to accompany a picture of their participation. Droga5 does a good job of presenting the initiative without seeming like a curmudgeonly, technophobic grandparent, but less convincingly ties the initiative to the brand. The broadcast spot (a 30-second version of the extended version above) will debut June 14, followed by six videos released over the next six weeks.
“We used real families and groups of friends” for the campaign, Droga5 creative director Karen Land Short told Adweek. “We recorded what happened when they went dark. That was a bit of an unknown at the time—we didn’t know if our thesis [that people connect more without the distraction of technology] was going to be right. But it was kind of everything we hoped for. There were jokes and real tears and secrets came out.”
Credits:
Dixie: #DarkForDinner
Client: Dixie
Campaign
Launch Date: 6/10/15
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Creative Director: Karen Land Short
Creative Director: Casey Rand
Copywriter: Dan Brill
Art Director: Spencer Hansen
Design Director: Rich Greco
Designer: Kathryn Brylinsky
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Head of Broadcast Production: Ben Davies
Broadcast Producer: Bill Berg
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Colm Murphy
Senior Strategist: Nick Maschmeyer
Head of Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy
Communications Strategist: Stuart Augustine
Head of Data Strategy: Melissa Zimyeski
Senior Data Strategist: Lily Ng
Data Strategist: Annie Corbett
General Manager/Head of Account: Susie Nam
Management
Group Account Director: Brett Edgar
Account Director: Michael Arani
Account Manager: Alexa Beck
Project Manager: Francess Jaen
Client: Dixie
CMO: Douwe Bergsma
VP / General Manager of Tableware: Erik Sjogren
Senior Brand Director: Andrew Noble
Senior Marketing Director, Brand Center: Shari Neumann
Senior Associate Brand Manager: Nelie Zanca
Production Company: Chelsea Pictures
Director: Henry Mason
DOP: Benn Martenson
Partner / Executive Producer: Allison Amon
Producer: Howard Woffinden
Editorial: Final Cut NY
Editor: Patrick Colman
Assistant Editor: Spencer Campbell
Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss
Head of Production: Viet-An Nguyen
Post Production: Significant Others
Producer: Alek Rost
Flame Artist: Dirk Greene
Sound: Significant Others
Mixer: T. Terressa Tate
#DarkforDinner: Interactive Credits List
Client: Dixie
Campaign: #DarkForDinner
Title: #DarkForDinner
URL: darkfordinner.com
Launch Date: 6/4/15
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Copywriter: Dan Brill
Art Director: Spencer Hansen
Design Director: Rich Greco
Designer: Kathryn Brylinsky
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Senior Interactive Producer: Tasha Cronin
Developer: Jason Bevans
UX Director: Daniel Perlin
UX Designer: Hiye Shin
Associate Director of Technology: Keath Chan
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Senior Print Producer: Alyssa Dolman
Group Account Director: Brett Edgar
Account Director: Mike Arani
Account Manager: Alexa Beck
Project Manager: Francess Jaen