The Time You Have Left Was 9 Days and 6 Hours / Pernod Ricard "THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT"

The problem

In Spain, there used to be a custom of lingering after meals over a digestif, taking time to relax together. But as everyone got busier and screens ate up more and more time, that custom was fading. What Ruavieja really wanted to change was that—how people spend their time.

The insight

People are built to avoid thinking about how much time they have left. Deep down we half-know it, but we look away from it anyway. This campaign was a wake-up call that put that unavoidable reality into cold, hard numbers.

The idea

Using data from sources including the national statistics institute and IAB, they built an algorithm that calculates how much time you actually have left to spend with someone important to you. Anyone could try it on the web, and the campaign filmed real people's reactions in the exact moment they learned their number. The numbers that came up were almost always smaller than people expected.

What happened

It became the most-watched and most-shared ad in Spanish advertising history. The organic view rate was 67%. Sales rose 52% (compared to +28.5% for the second-place brand in the category). One million people visited the site, and more than 700,000 actually ran the calculation. The campaign won a Gold Lion and a Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions.

Afterthought

It takes real nerve for an alcohol brand to say "spend more time together" instead of "drink more." And there's no lecturing at all—just the numbers, left for you to sit with. That honesty is probably what made so many people want to share it. Part of me wants to try the calculator myself... but honestly, I'm too scared.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Gold 2020

Featured in

• From 1 Second to 500 Million YearsTen ads lined up by nothing but the length of time they cover
• One Number, Right in the Middle of the Ad$6.95, £14,650, 18 seconds, 9 days and 6 hours.

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