BELDENT INFINIT | Almost Identical | 2014
Chewing gum makes a bad impression? Then let's test it with twins / BELDENT INFINIT "Almost Identical"
For decades, there's been a social stigma: "people who chew gum come across badly." But is that actually true? Let's find out. With twins. At a museum. Have one twin chew gum and the other not, stand them side by side, and you'll see which one actually makes the better impression.
The problem
Argentina's BELDENT INFINIT wanted to boost gum consumption among 18-to-24-year-olds. Research revealed there are many situations where chewing gum simply isn't allowed — school, university, the workplace, places of worship. The reason: a negative perception of gum chewers that's been ingrained for decades. Gum carries a social stigma. But is that stigma actually true? The goal was to find out whether there was any truth to the question.
The insight
The only way to answer it is to watch how the same person is perceived with gum in their mouth versus without. So: twins. Line up two people who look completely identical, and have only one of them chew gum. The single difference between them is that one is chewing gum. It's about as simple a comparison as you can design — and about as powerful.
The idea
The exhibition took place at a contemporary art museum in Buenos Aires. Visitors were asked questions about the image each twin gave off. 481 visitors were asked things like "Which one seems more likely to get invited to a party?" and "Which one seems like they'd have a better sex life?" The twins wore identical clothes and styling — the only difference was that one of them chewed gum the entire time. BELDENT INFINIT ran the experiment using identical twins. There was something bold about turning twins into museum exhibits, and something tense about firing off such casual questions inside the authority of a museum. That combination was just right.
What happened
481 people took part in the experiment, and 73% of them preferred the twin who was chewing gum. It showed that chewing gum doesn't hurt how you're perceived — it actually improves it. The documentary went viral on YouTube and Facebook, reaching 10 million views in just one week. Gum became something the target audience actually talked about — something that had never happened in this product category before, where conversation had always been limited to product traits like freshness. The campaign won 8 Lions at Cannes Lions: two Gold in Direct, Gold in Outdoor, Silver in Promo, and Bronze in Film Craft, Film, PR, and Media.
Afterthought
The idea that chewing gum could actually improve your impression on people sounds backwards at first. But this campaign proved you should question your assumptions, using a museum and twins as the ultimate comparison device. The raw reactions of 481 people, that overwhelming 73% figure, and the reach that came from compressing it all into a two-minute documentary seen by 10 million people — I think the real strength of this campaign is that they actually ran the experiment. They rented a museum, gathered five sets of twins, got visitors to participate, and counted and recorded everything properly. That honesty is what makes it convincing. This is the moment an ad turned into a social experiment that broke down a stigma.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2014
