Dream Big
Best Campaign Generating Brand Awareness
Dream Big
Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Client: Carnival Cruise Lines
In 2008, Carnival was the industry leader. However, the image of cruise lines in general was that cruising was for “newlyweds or nearly deads.” To change this misperception, in 2008, the agency created a campaign that refreshed the Carnival image by capturing the fun that comes with a Carnival cruise. The first step was changing the tagline from “Fun for All” to “All for Fun.”
Following up on their prior work, in 2009, Arnold was tasked with creating a new way to bring the fun of a Carnival cruise to life on land in New York City. The cruise line’s largest and newest fleet member, the Dream, was debuting in November, 2009 in the big apple. Carnival wanted to create an impactful media event that would not only break through the early holiday clutter but also set the brand apart from its chief competitor, Royal Caribbean, which was planning to launch a new ship in December.
Arnold conceived the world’s largest children’s book (15’6” x 20’), “The Dream Plucker of Perrysport,” designed to create “fun for all.” The content of the book was inspired by imaginations and dreams of children who sailed on a Carnival fun ship in the spring by asking children 6-11 finish the thought, “I’m always dreaming up fun stuff. Wouldn’t it be awesome if…” and shared a drawing of their dream. Twelve dreams were selected from more than 800 submissions.
The structure was unveiled in Rockefeller Plaza and read to school children by honorary “godmother” Marcia Gay Harden nationwide on the TODAY show with help from Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and Al Roker. The media and consumers were invited to participate in activities. The book was dedicated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and was downloadable at carnival.com.
Activities on the plaza included Carnival’s Fun Force acrobatic team, Carnival dancers, musical acts, jugglers, magicians, balloon artists, web photo stations, coloring stations, temporary tattoos and more.
Carnival also partnered with the TODAY show to find the show’s next Kid Reporter who would include among his or her assignments coverage of the book unveiling and the ship’s inaugural celebration.
In total, media impressions reached more than 150 million, while 500,000 consumers were exposed to the Carnival brand.
