Media Release
16 March 2009

Schweppes Short Film Festival Hits Top 10 on YouTube

An innovative and refreshing campaign created in New Zealand for Schweppes Europe has now achieved a worldwide following on the internet.

The Schweppes Short Film Festival was created by advertising agency Publicis Mojo, and the short film “Signs” from the festival recently became one of the top 10 most viewed videos on video-sharing site YouTube.

Last week Viral Video Chart (www.viralvideochart.com) announced Signs as the fifth most viewed viral video in the world.

Publicis Mojo’s Creative Director Lachlan McPherson says “it’s awesome to see that creative ideas from New Zealand are reaching around the world”.

Armed with the task to reposition Schweppes as an adult beverage, Publicis Mojo’s creative team realised that “if you were to create true ads for adult viewers they wouldn’t be able to be played on TV”.

Instead, five short, sharp films were produced to tantalise the Schweppes audience, some of which touch on the more sinister themes of human nature.

Schweppes allowed an open creative brief for each film, with only one prerequisite – each film must contain a “Schhh Moment”.

The campaign was initially rolled out in Eastern Europe, but is now enjoying a worldwide following, largely through Signs, the fifth film in the festival.

Directed by Patrick Hughes, Signs is an 11-minute romantic comedy about an unhappy office worker looking for love. He eventually realises that the signs were there all along, in the neighbouring office.

Told with very little dialogue, the film appeals to an international audience and has now become a viral success, achieving almost one million views on YouTube alone.

The Schweppes Short Film Festival stable of awards and global success just keeps growing. So for those of a mature age and a liberal mind, sit back and enjoy the entire Schweppes Short Film Festival line-up at www.schhh.eu/shortfilms

ENDS