Out of Africa

This post comes from one of our star ACDs, Sergio Flores. He writes about our work on Transitions lenses, specifically about the latest campaign which was shot in Africa. You can read about it here: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/410/12/34504.html

Or watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jd-seq-OdU

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

Take it away, Serge!

What do elephants have to do with healthy sight?

I like geography, I do. But I had to look up exactly where Namibia was when I found out that’s where we would be shooting the latest Transitions Lenses campaign.

But let’s rewind a little bit.

Our client had asked us to come up with a creative platform that elevated the idea of healthy sight. You see, Transitions lenses not only protect you from damaging UV rays, they also reduce eye-strain and fatigue. They do this by adjusting to the light conditions without you even noticing. Which result in happy healthy eyes.

But that all sounds all so technical, we wanted something that had a tad more drama.

So, we came up with the idea people that use their eyes for a living—photographers, cinematographers, artists—endorse the product.

The clients liked the idea lot, but thought that the artist route was highfalutin. Philistines!

But they were right. Our suggestion was then to make it about nature documentary film-makers, and National Geographic photographers. Which if you think about it, gives the sun, and the changing light-conditions a bigger role. Which made the idea stronger. And landed us in Namibia. And South Africa. And Botswana. And India. And Japan


We shot two TV commercials in Africa. And three self-portraits by National Geographic photographers in Botswana, India and Japan.

Fast forward a little bit and—besides having a lot of fun and seeing elephants, giraffes, flamingos, gigantic sand dunes, bamboo forests and the odd smiling client—we were able to put together a fully integrated campaign. From TV commercials and interactive online adpods to print ads and video banners.

The result is a tremendously successful integrated campaign that we can all be proud of, including Planet Earth.

- Sergio Flores, ACD at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness