Casanova Pendrill’s idea for Nature Valley’s new TV ad was big enough to cross the boundaries of the Latino audience it was initially intended for. That also meant stepping on the turf of McCann Erickson, its sister agency, which handles the brand’s general market account.
“It wasn’t a shout-out,” said Ingrid Otero-Smart, the Costa Mesa-based agency’s president and chief executive. “The assignment was for the Hispanic campaign, and that’s what we are, their agency for the Hispanic market. But as soon as [the client] saw it, they said, ‘This works for both; it has a total market approach.’ It was approved immediately with little to no change, and we produced it for both markets.”
The only difference is in the media plans, Otero-Smart said, explaining that “the 60-second version of the ad runs in the general market only and that the Hispanic one has 30- and 15-second versions.”
It wasn’t Casanova Pendrill’s first shot at Nature Valley’s general market consumer, but the “third time in the last four to five years,” she said. “I’m sure some people (at the other agency) don’t like it, but in general, it ends up being client-directed. They’ll still do other work for the brand. At least this campaign is ours.”
The agency has done similar “crossovers” for other clients, including the U.S. Army.
“Every spot that we do for [the Army], even though it’s created for the Hispanic market, it’s also used in the general market,” Otero-Smart said. “I think there is more of an appetite to look at ideas that can deliver the total market rather than just a separate Hispanic and general-market effort, the ideas that are strong enough, that are based on a strategy that identifies consumer insights for both groups.”
The trend, which caters to the state’s assimilating Latino population, is giving Casanova Pendrill an opportunity to shine.
“It clearly shows that we can sit at the same table as the general market agency,” she said. “I’ve been in the Hispanic market for 24 years, and the Hispanic agency was always called up at the end, once the creative brief is done and the general market campaign is developed. What you see now, and what this kind of event allows us to do more is, we are involved from the beginning—we are called in to consult on strategy. We many times start developing the creative at the same time, or hand-in-hand with the general market, so it clearly shows what we’ve been saying for a long time: that our creative and our strategic talent is at par with non-Hispanic talent.”
Nature Valley’s new ad, created in English and Spanish, follows blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer as he explores green valleys with his daughter Emma.
The one-minute commercial features the “feel the energy of nature” slogan. It was filmed in the Rocky Mountains under the direction of Casanova Pendrill’s Fernando Poblete.
Weihenmayer lost his sight at 13, but that didn’t prevent him from climbing Mount Everest in 2001, as well as the six other highest peaks since.
The relatively serene commercial, which debuted during the Emmy Awards last month, serves as a teaser to his next feat—a 277-mile white-water kayaking adventure down the Colorado River as it snakes through the Grand Canyon.
The agency also set up a Tumblr site featuring video updates from Weihenmayer’s 21-day trip, which kicked off on Sept. 7, and will promote it via social media.
“We are handling that. We just won’t be there physically because none of us wanted to be in a kayak,” Otero-Smart said. “I don’t think the insurance would cover that.”
Nature Valley, a division of General Mills Inc., has been Casanova Pendrill’s client since 1984. The agency, which had an estimated $17.6 million in revenue in 2013, has been on a hiring spree and plans to close the year with about 80 on its staff. It ranked No. 13 on the Business Journal’s latest list of advertising agencies based in Orange County.
Its client roster includes Chevrolet, Denny’s, Turbo Tax and USPS, among others.
