Colour Me Sherwin

So this will be my very first official blog post! Without wasting everyone's time with a big introductory spiel I will dive right into the assignment at hand. Let your vision be wooed...

It didn't take much to jog my memory about this campaign from a few months ago. It is very rare, as I am sure everyone can relate, that we not only specifically remember a campaign from a while ago, but actually recall liking it and remembering the campaign with a certain fondness, even with (gasp!) a smile on our face.

First of all how can you ultimately not enjoy (even a little bit) a commercial that could have you seeing rainbows in your dreams for weeks? This Sherwin Williams campaign that launched back in June was unique, creative and - well - colourful (for lack of a better descriptive word) to the point of no return. You may be able to taste the rainbow with Skittles, but Sherwin Williams puts Skittles to shame with this campaign that proves seeing a vivid rainbow of colours practically jump out at you is just that much better than tasting it. The way Sherwin Williams goes even further is the simple fact that not only are their commercials visually captivating - but YES - these colours you are seeing - well you can have them in your very own home; you can see them everyday! 

I`ll be completely honest, before I saw this commercial I had only really known of the brand Sherwin-Williams because I used to drive by a Sherwin Williams paint store on my way to work. For me, there is no brand preference in my mind for paint stores, and I had no real perception or opinion on this Sherwin Williams paint store. So, at least in my case I think, their campaign did the job it was supposed to because I view Sherwin-Williams in a totally different light. I guess I hold a very positive attitude towards them now because I truly did marvel at their commercials and print ads in this campaign. Maybe it`s silly or maybe it`s just that easy with a campaign like this one.

I guess I have been going on and on all about this awesome campaign without even fully explaining said "awesomeness". Well since it's whole success really relies on the visual appeal, I will let the commercials and print ads do the talking first and foremost. The two commercials that ran are linked below, with the accompanying campaign print ads scattered throughout the post.





So after viewing the commercial, hopefully you might have had half of the eye-opening experience I had. Simply put, I actually truly enjoyed watching the commercial - and not just because of the "ohh-la-la" colour show. I thought it was truly unique, different, original and most of all, FUN. I guess I liked it even more knowing that a product/brand such as your regular paint store, that typically doesn't impress or excite the consumer, had such a fun and engaging commercial. Its simplicity and wonderfully artistic rendition of a world made out of paint chips really captured and represented a brand identity to make it stand out from the rest of your average paint stores. (I mean really - is there a large part of the population who so strongly feel preferential towards one specific paint store?) In general, I loved how something so ordinary was all of a sudden turned upside down and became a whole different world. I think it was a spectacular vision, and was played out magically. 

There were actually two firms that worked on this campaign. McKinney is the advertising agency that handled the campaign, while a design-driven creative firm was responsible for the actual artistic creations using real paint chips. McKinney is an innovative and well-respected advertising agency that was recently voted as one of the world's best ad agencies to work for according to Ad Age. They currently have clients such as Nike, Gold's Gym, Coldwell Banker and Travelocity. When addressing a possible question a potential client might wonder, "Why McKinney?" their response on their website is, "We're here to create game-changing ideas that make extraordinary things happen." Buck, the artistic geniuses behind the actual masterpiece that is the paint-chip world, work with a wide range of clients in the advertising, broadcast, retail, film and entertainment industries. They use animation, visual effects and live action to create their client-focused creative work.

I found the campaign to be highly effective in its presentation. It truly expanded the normal horizon of creativity, and did it in a beautifully put-together, captivating and enticing way. It captured the essence of a surreal world and held your attention. The effectiveness, I believe, was obvious in the simple way in which paint chips were transformed into something real, almost touchable. The way these paint chips were artistically crafted to create an alternate universe that is entirely made out of them mirrored the way paint can transform your own universe in your home into an entirely different place; a different world. This campaign gave the brand, Sherwin Williams, a strong (and positive) brand personality that perhaps was not present before. I think they used the mediums of television and magazines to their advantage, and chose them wisely in order to reach their target market. It was effective because not only could its' artsy and colourful adaptation appeal to people of all ages, but the visual simplicity and uniqueness of it all could be appreciated by any one. The way Sherwin Williams put words into colour was effortless, and I really think they have now burned a vivid and bright image into the mind and memory of the consumer for a good long while.