An ordinary-looking dude in a grey touque and an outdated puffy coat waits for the bus with a slightly dazed look in his eye. Doesn’t sound like much of a hero, does he?
But according to a new campaign for Kijiji Canada by its Montreal-based advertising AOR, Cloudraker, he fits the bill because not only did he help the environment by buying a washing machine via the free local classifieds site (rather than supporting the manufacturing of a new one), he also saved himself $300 and “helped out a neighbour” in the process.
The 30-second TV spot, which first aired nationally on Monday, is part of a national campaign called “Local Heroes.” At its core are the everyday folks that buy and sell on the site, “upcycling” through the site and therefore leaving less of a carbon footprint, the company said.
The campaign also aims to show that the site, which saw an estimated $1 billion in Canadian transactions in 2012, is driven by Canadians as one of a handful of community-fueled shopping sites in the country.
The campaign also includes two 15-second spots – one specific to Buy and Sell and one for Automotive – which will begin in March. Denneboom handled the media buy.
Kijiji Canada head of marketing Bart Molenda said in a release that the campaign taps into the insight that “people are being heroes by using Kijiji as a responsible alternative to retail.”
