GOLIN London has won this year’s Audio & Radio Grand Prix for ‘The Misheard Version’, an ingenious campaign designed to promote Specsavers hearing tests.
In a bold new twist on the subject of misheard song lyrics, Golin invited singer Rick Astley to re-record his hit song Never Gonna Give You Up — using the many misheard lyrics that have been attached to the song since it was released in 1987. Among these is the substitution of ‘your aunt’s been naked’ for ‘your heart’s been aching’.
The serious intention behind the re-release was to get people talking about hearing tests. Figures from Golin show the song was played over 20 million times in the first eight hours of the campaign, driving a 138% increase in hearing loss searches and making hearing the UK’s number one trending topic. The client also achieved a 66% year-on-year increase in hearing test bookings during launch week, versus its target of 5%.
Jury President Simon Vicars, also chief creative officer, Colenso BBDO, New Zealand, said: “We wanted our Audio & Radio Grand Prix to show a commitment to creativity by both the brands and creator. And this was both a clever and hilarious idea.”
Vicars added: “There was an easy way they could have done this campaign, but they chose the hard way and we loved them for it. They showed how creativity can be an amplifier for business results while also busting out into culture.”
The Specsavers campaign also won a Gold Lion. In addition, there were Golds for campaigns from Brazil, Spain and Germany/Brazil.
Comments