Drinking a glass of warm milk is thought to make people drowsy, but how about an actual dairy farmer lulling insomniacs to sleep?
That’s what the sleep-deprived will find with a new campaign from Dairy Farmers of Canada. Created by DDB Canada, “Project Sleep” includes a series of TV, radio, digital and social executions that target those suffering from lack of sleep.
A 60-second and 30-second spot called “Goodnight Canada” features Canadian musician Hayden’s rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” as lights are being turned out across a city. Two 15-second and five-second pre-rolls show a dairy farmer staying up late to help viewers who can’t get to sleep, by telling them a bedtime story or shushing them to sleep.
“We want to make sure that Canadians see [dairy farmers] as the champions of healthy living,” said Victoria Cruz, marketing and retail director at Dairy Farmers of Canada. “Lack of sleep is a huge issue that affects over 15 million Canadians. There are physical, emotional and economical consequences associated with lack of sleep, and we felt that no one was talking about that.”
Consumers won’t see a glass of milk in the campaign, which was done on purpose, said Cruz. “We tried to develop an approach that was different and that could help Canadians think about dairy farmers in a different manner,” she said.
The spots drive to ProjectSleep.ca, which features sleep advice and a discussion paper with insights on The Canadian Sleep Review 2016. For the report, Dairy Farmers of Canada and Vision Critical surveyed Canadians on their sleep habits.
The study found 40% of Canadians do not wake up refreshed and are irritable throughout the day. In addition, 49% admit lack of sleep affects productivity at work, and six in 10 would take a nap if they could.
Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., a sleep state is activated on the site, encouraging users to turn off their screens and go to sleep. For those having trouble falling asleep, the volume can be turned up to hear ambient white noise. The site was designed by DDB Canada and developed by Mirum.
A media strategy by Initiative includes a heavy late-night TV buy and dayparting executions. Digital and social advertising is aimed at Canadians who are online late at night or searching sleep-related topics.
“[The idea] is to serve our message to Canadians when they are tired and give them a solution to their problem—ultimately trying to help them get a good night’s sleep,” said Cruz.
A national media relations program by DDB Public Relations raises awareness of the issue of sleep deprivation, highlighting findings from the sleep survey.
