TANGO | SEAL | 2003
A Baby Seal's Death, Then a One-Line Twist / TANGO "SEAL"
Orcas toy with a baby seal like a ball, then toss it onto the beach. For the first 40 seconds, it keeps up the pretense of being a nature documentary.
The problem
TANGO is a British soft drink brand that has long run a series of intense ads built around catching you off guard and then flipping the script. This series was revived in 2002, and in 2003 several entries, including this one, won Gold at Cannes.
The insight
The idea is that the more faithfully it mimics the narration style of a nature program, the harder the final twist lands. The goal is to catch viewers off guard right when they've let their guard down, thinking it's just a sad animal story.
The idea
The moment a baby seal tries to enter the ocean for the first time, two massive orcas catch it, toss it back and forth like a ball, and finally fling it limply onto the beach. Just as the tragedy seems complete, a single line delivers the punchline.
What happened
Directed by James Pilkington of Partizan London, with Chris Chesney as art director. Along with several other entries in the same series, it won Gold in the Non-Alcoholic Beverages category at Cannes Lions 2003.
Afterthought
The nerve it takes to go all the way to making the seal look dead is impressive. It's built so that even if you already know the punchline, you still want to watch it twice. This kind of structure—making you believe it at the start, then flipping it at the end—takes real staying power and guts from a brand.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2003
