Altoids: Australian Double Back
Altoids wanted Leo Burnett Chicago to create a campaign that reinforced its unique, quirky brand personality. The client needed to engage a young, discerning audience with unexpected, surreal humor, making the brand memorable. The challenge was to stand out in confectionery by contrasting mundane interactions with bizarre realities. The desired outcome was increased brand relevance, recall, and continued market leadership through distinctive advertising.
Creative Idea
People are so curious about Altoids, they even ignore a doubleback dog.
Altoids created a surreal and humorous advertisement featuring an unexpected interaction where someone casually asks about chocolate-dipped Altoids, not even payin atention to an surreal dog who has no head but two backs instead.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Altoids possessed a legacy of 'Curiously Strong' and offbeat marketing that allowed them to introduce indulgent chocolate-dipped mints without losing their edgy, minimalist, and witty brand identity.
Category
Confectionery ads typically rely on literal taste cues, slow-motion food photography, and predictable refreshment scenarios that emphasize flavor satisfaction through polished, conventional storytelling.
Customer
The audience was tired of being sold to with functional benefits and instead craved sophisticated, absurdist humor that rewarded their intelligence by treating the bizarre with casual indifference.
Culture
The campaign tapped into the mid-2000s zeitgeist of post-modern, deadpan comedy where brands gained cultural capital by being intentionally weird and disregarding traditional commercial logic.
Company
Altoids possessed a legacy of 'Curiously Strong' and offbeat marketing that allowed them to introduce indulgent chocolate-dipped mints without losing their edgy, minimalist, and witty brand identity.
Category
Confectionery ads typically rely on literal taste cues, slow-motion food photography, and predictable refreshment scenarios that emphasize flavor satisfaction through polished, conventional storytelling.
Strategy:
Normalize indulgent product extensions through deadpan absurdity to maintain the brand’s reputation for witty, surreal subversion.
Customer
The audience was tired of being sold to with functional benefits and instead craved sophisticated, absurdist humor that rewarded their intelligence by treating the bizarre with casual indifference.
Culture
The campaign tapped into the mid-2000s zeitgeist of post-modern, deadpan comedy where brands gained cultural capital by being intentionally weird and disregarding traditional commercial logic.
Strategy:
Normalize indulgent product extensions through deadpan absurdity to maintain the brand’s reputation for witty, surreal subversion.
Strategy Technique
Create a Tension Between Product & World
The campaign creates tension by juxtaposing a mundane product discussion with a bizarre, two-backed dog. This clash generates unexpected humor, reinforcing Altoids' quirky brand personality and memorability.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Create Fantasy Worlds, People and Things
The campaign creates a surreal dog with two backs, establishing a ludicrous alternate reality. This bizarre 'thing' reinforces Altoids' unique and quirky brand personality through unexpected humor.
Explore Technique
