Incredibly Creative Advertising Campaign: #TimsDark



Photo of an advertisement from Tim Hortons #TimsDark Campaign
(Great Places In Canada, 2013)



This past summer, I came across an incredibly creative advertising campaign for the launch of a new product. Tim Hortons launched its new dark roast coffee and the advertising agency JWT Canada created and released two commercials (Oster, 2014, para. 1). I found both of these commercials to be very interesting and memorable. Both commercials focused solely on the taste of Tim Hortons new dark roast coffee. I have included two YouTube links below.

Check out the below YouTube link. It contains the first commercial of the campaign entitled “#TimsDark Experiment” (Tim Hortons, 2014a August 14).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfFvkHgeWY&list=PLEBPkS9Z0ZdopciQaxqcE0tMj            HVHvkCwL&src_vid=6Losb8VlBrY&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_249724119

 
This commercial was shot in L’Île-Perrot, Quebec and features an actual Tim Hortons restaurant (Oster, 2014, para. 2). The store and two cars in front of it were covered in black wrapping. Customers who were brave enough to enter were led in the dark to the counter by an employee and handed a cup of coffee. The lights are then turned on revealing that the cup of coffee contained Tim Hortons new dark roast.

Check out the below YouTube link. It contains the second commercial of the campaign entitled “#TimsDark Bus Commercial” (Tim Hortons, 2014b December 9).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Losb8VlBrY

This commercial features a bus which has been covered in black with the destination name “#TimsDark” picking up people at actual bus stops. When people enter the bus they are given a cup of Tim Hortons new dark roast coffee and asked what they think of the new product.

What I liked the most about Tim Hortons #TimsDark campaign, is how they added mystery and intrigue to real life everyday activities, walking into the Tim Hortons restaurant on the way to work or getting on the local bus. They made them into creative advertising “experiments.” I was interested in tasting Tim Hortons new dark roast coffee after watching these commercials.

I also like how they used the theme of darkness throughout their advertisements.  At the end of the commercial “#TimsDark Experiment” they take their normal Tim Hortons logo and give it a haunting glow as it the lights were turned off inside it.

Screenshot of Tim Hortons logo at the end of the first commercial "#TimsDark Experiment"
(Tim Hortons, 2014a August 2014)

What do you think about Tim Hortons #TimsDark campaign? Would you say their advertising campaign was incredibly creative?

   

References:

 Great Places In Canada. (2013). Past Winners [Images]. Retrieved from http://www.greatplacesincanada.ca/en/past-winners.asp

Oster, E. (2014, August 18). JWT Canada Conducts “Dark Experiment” for Tim Hortons. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/jwt-canada-conducts-dark-experiment-for-tim-hortons/71537

Tim Hortons. (2014a, August 14). #TimsDark Experiment – Tim Hortons Dark Roast Coffee [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfFvkHgeWY&list=PLEBPkS9Z0ZdopciQaxqcE0tMjHVHvkCwL&src_vid=6Losb8VlBrY&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_249724119

Tim Hortons. (2014b, December 9). #TimsDark Bus Commercial – Tim Hortons Dark Roast Coffee [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Losb8VlBrY