PROJECT: SPICE ISLAND
The One Club for Creativity holds an annual competition for students under the moniker “Young Ones”. This year’s product that the competition was centered around was Heinz Jalapeño ketchup. I was paired with a partner and we set out to achieve something special.
Goal: To make Heinz Jalapeño ketchup the number one breakfast choice for younger millennials and Gen Z.
The Solution
THE PROCESS
My process for this project was a bit different than previous approaches I’ve taken. It was also the first time in awhile that I worked with someone for a creative project. While I did sketch out ideas, it wasn’t my main idea generation tool that it has been in so many of my projects. I used mind mapping to get a lot of ideas out of my head and into the world. Something that was fun that I ended up using A LOT during this process of creating Spice Island was AI.
AI has become somewhat of a boogeyman to creatives and artists, and for a long time I was kind of drinking the Kool-Aid thinking that it was something that should be avoided. However, after talking to a few friends, friends that both work in the world of advertising and outside of it, they told me of the benefits of AI and how it can be used for creating concepts and how it can also be used as a thinking partner. Taking that into consideration, I took that and ran with it, trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to bring out of this project. Below are some early sketches and concepts of what I thought the event would be:
Mood Board and
Early Ideas
In addition to the use of AI as a thinking partner and the early sketches for promotional material, we looked at Pinterest to gain inspiration for the project.
In the beginning stages of this project, I thought it would be best to do a brand activation event that could be available to everyday people that wanted to meet others at a mixer that was sponsored by Heinz and had a Heinz Jalapeño ketchup theme. Although it was called “Spice Island” we didn’t know if it was going to be in a city environment in a nightclub or if it was going to be in a beach town. Regardless of that, we thought that by hosting an event and giving away swag bags along with cards that had cheesy pickup lines on them would leave a lasting impression on those who attended the event. It honestly could have too, but we realized that a brand activation would limit our reach. What could we do to extend our reach to our target audience?
Then it hit us:
Dating show drama.
Spice Island
Spice Island
Spice Island is a spoof of the hit dating show “Love Island” that started out in the UK. While “Love Island” is over the top in nature, Spice Island takes it up a tick on the Scoville scale.
People who are interested in being casted need to submit a video showcasing why they’re spicy enough for the show and use the hashtag #spiceisland. Contestants who are selected will be flown out to the remote Spice Island location on the Heinz private jet where the experience of a lifetime awaits them.
With challenges such as “Heat Harmony Dance-Off” and “Spicy Love Trivia”, there is enough heat to keep this show hot for a full season, not just a one-off sponsored episode.
Like its predecessor, “Love Island”, Spice Island will be available to stream on Hulu. Unlike Love Island, however, contestants will not be voted off by each other and instead will be voted off every week by those who tune in.