How They Ran a Toy Train 20km Down a Pilgrimage Route Without Ever Stopping It / ESTRELLA "COME BACK FERRORAMA"

The problem

The Brazilian train toy Ferrorama was discontinued in 1997. Even so, fans kept the dream alive online, building communities and pushing for a comeback in numbers reaching into the thousands. The voices were loud, but the company had no real reason to act.

The insight

What's interesting is that the key to bringing it back was handed over to the fans themselves. The president personally issued the challenge, turning the condition into a tough, hands-on task. Instead of asking fans to just say how much they wanted it, he asked them to prove it through action.

The idea

Fans brought their own tracks together and chose a stretch near the end of a famous pilgrimage route in Spain as the stage. To keep the train moving without ever stopping it, they walked the whole way repeating the same process over and over: adding track ahead of the train, then pulling up the track behind it and moving it to the front. The whole process was shared step by step on social media, letting fans around the world follow along as it happened.

What happened

Over the course of several days, they completed the planned stretch, and Ferrorama was relaunched that same year. Reportedly, a large number of preorders had already come in even before the announcement. The campaign won Gold and Silver in the Direct category at Cannes Lions 2011.

Afterthought

What I love is the idea of making fans walk a pilgrimage instead of just putting out a comeback announcement. All that unglamorous, repetitive work in the rain—pulling up track and laying it down again and again—ended up being the most passionate love letter of all.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Gold 2011

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