Morton Salt: The One Moment
Morton Salt faced the challenge of being perceived as a stagnant commodity brand. Ogilvy Chicago was tasked with launching the first Masterbrand campaign in the company's history to modernize the brand's image. The goal was to engage millennial consumers by evolving the iconic Umbrella Girl into a symbol of action, encouraging people to make a difference through the #WalkHerWalk platform.
Creative Idea
Slowed down 4.2 seconds of high-speed chaos into a choreographed masterpiece of brand purpose.
Morton Salt transformed a commodity into a purpose-driven brand by collaborating with OK Go on a music video where 4.2 seconds of action are slowed down, dramatizing how a single moment can spark a movement for good.
Four Seconds of Chaos and a Massive Spreadsheet
The 4.2 Second Masterpiece
The core of the video captures a mere 4.2 seconds of real-time action, expanded into a cinematic experience through extreme slow motion. To achieve this, director Damian Kulash utilized high-speed cameras filming at up to 6,000 frames per second. Because no single robotic arm could move fast enough to track the sequence, the team used seven different camera movements digitally stitched together. The entire production was governed by a massive spreadsheet - 25 columns wide and 400 rows long - that synchronized 325 events, including salt bursts and paint explosions, down to 2-millisecond intervals. To ensure the lip-syncing appeared natural in slow motion, the band members performed their parts at 3x normal speed.
Moving the Needle on a Commodity
The collaboration successfully repositioned a 168-year-old commodity brand for a new generation. The campaign reached over 55 million views, with 80% of that traffic being entirely organic. Beyond viral fame, the effort drove a 18% increase in total retail sales, representing $4 million in incremental revenue. Most notably, Morton saw a 9.5% lift in Millennial household penetration within just two months. The #WalkHerWalk initiative also featured five "Difference Makers," such as Adarsh Alphons and Haile Thomas, transforming the Morton Salt Girl from a static logo into a symbol of social progress.
Guitars and Salt Flowers
The production was filled with technical ingenuity and surprising details. The "blooming" salt flowers seen early in the video were powered by custom pneumatic triggers. While the video features the destruction of several instruments, Fender provided factory-defective guitars to ensure no playable equipment was wasted. This "Brand Patronage" model generated over 1.1 billion earned media impressions, proving that high-concept art can drive massive commercial growth.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A 168-year-old salt brand with an iconic but passive mascot, the Umbrella Girl.
Category
Salt brands usually compete on price and utility, acting as invisible kitchen staples with no emotional connection.
Customer
Millennials who value social impact and authenticity, seeking brands that contribute positively to the world rather than just selling.
Culture
The rise of viral music videos as high-art experiences and the growing expectation for brands to lead social change.
Company
A 168-year-old salt brand with an iconic but passive mascot, the Umbrella Girl.
Category
Salt brands usually compete on price and utility, acting as invisible kitchen staples with no emotional connection.
Strategy:
Leverage high-concept artistic collaboration to transform a functional commodity into a symbol of proactive social impact.
Customer
Millennials who value social impact and authenticity, seeking brands that contribute positively to the world rather than just selling.
Culture
The rise of viral music videos as high-art experiences and the growing expectation for brands to lead social change.
Strategy:
Leverage high-concept artistic collaboration to transform a functional commodity into a symbol of proactive social impact.
Strategy Technique
Borrow Equity
Morton Salt partnered with OK Go, known for viral, high-concept art, to instantly gain cultural relevance and reach a younger audience that typically ignores traditional commodity advertising.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Spacetime Warp
The video stretches 4.2 seconds of real-time footage into a full-length music video, using extreme slow-motion to reveal the beauty and choreography hidden within a single, fleeting moment.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional due to its meticulous choreography and perfect synchronization between the music and the practical effects.
The use of high-speed photography and a continuous tracking shot creates a visually stunning and immersive experience.
The studio environment and the various practical effects are expertly designed and executed to create a series of visually captivating moments.
The magic of this campaign comes from the perfect synergy between the music, the choreography, and the practical effects, all captured through exceptional cinematography.
