Don't risk bad gifts.

geschenkidee.ch is Switzerland’s largest online store for personal gifts and gift experiences. The new campaign we created puts the business top of mind with consumers and establishes geschenkidee.ch as a true love brand by combining clever and emotional storytelling with a twist.

To develop the advertising platform “Don’t risk bad gifts” we created a 360º campaign around the main character “Don Regalo” - a seasoned mafia boss. The Don, who is both controlling and personable at the same time, can turn into an unpleasant villain when presented with an unsatisfactory gift - a perfect metaphor for the importance of picking the right present for your loved ones.

At the core of the campaign is a masterfully produced, 2 minutes and 38 seconds short movie that features the story of mafia boss “Don Regalo” receiving his Christmas gifts. To stand out from the crowd of typical Holiday ads, none of the stereotypical elements like winter wonderland, corny Christmas tunes and other worn-out clichés were used. With its unique timing, the movie sets a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season – and presents an opportunity to slow down during this fast-paced time of year.

The social media campaign cleverly uses 30s trailer and 6s bumper ad versions of the movie to convey the key message, as well as driving viewers towards geschenkidee.ch’s website. To present visitors with a unique user experience, geschenkidee.ch’s already existing chatbot has been redesigned as a landing page. Not only was the chat window adopted to match the campaign’s distinct visual appearance, but the entire AI-based conversation engine was re-programmed to use proper mafia slang and talk just like the main character.

In addition, we developed social media and online display ads, memes, and stories to perfectly accompany and promote this unusual and exceptionally well-received campaign in Switzerland.