“It was a sad day, full of deadlines to meet, one of those days when the light at the end of the tunnel is called “task closed”. On that very day, between an editorial plan and a visual to create, it happened that…”. No, it’s not the beginning of a script for just any commercial, only the moment when an idea took shape on a blank sheet of paper: calma&gesso (calm&chalk).
But let’s take a step back.
How can an advertising agency communicate itself, sidestepping stereotypes and avoiding a simple, and useless, exercise in style?
This was the question that, for some time, occupied the dead (non-existent) time of Mentarossa. Studying winning strategies for its clients is undoubtedly the core business of a communication agency, and consequently ours too, but studying impactful self-promotion is a whole other thing.
At that moment, there are no clients and executors, victims or “executioners” of a brief, there is only your work group and the desire to do something that represents you, that elicits a smile, that intrigues your clients or those you hope will become them.
Not having particular constraints can be an advantage, but the blank page syndrome is just around the corner. We had to start from the basics, we had to do what we do best: amaze.
Somewhere we had to start: what is the state of mind that usually unites all those who share an office? Easy answer: stress.
The days are a succession of exhausting calls, people crowding one’s desk, bringing more or less absurd requests, asking more or less relevant questions to the work sphere.
Added to the stress is the lack of time, the phone calls from a companion* eager for attention, tight deadlines. Even closed doors, when leaving the office corresponds to absurd hours. Yet all this MUST have a solution, there must be a way to transform problems and weaknesses into opportunities.
Calm down, you have to keep calm, indeed, as an old saying goes: calma e gesso!
Calma e gesso… what a strange saying…
The origin of this phrase comes from the game of billiards. When a player is about to make a complex shot, they usually take their time, rub the tip of the cue with chalk, think about the effects of their shot and… score!
Here’s the idea: create a kit capable of solving the problems that afflict almost all prospects and clients using chalk!
A small, handmade box, each containing four small colored chalks, branded Mentarossa, would literally arrive in the hands of a few selected people, profiles whose capacity for imagination would be able to ignite the spark.
These chalks would be more useful than one might think, they would become the best ally in finding simple solutions to complex problems.
Why complain about your available time when, with calma&gesso, you can draw a wall clock, perhaps without hands, and gain precious time?
Why endure the incessant coming and going of colleagues near your desk, when you can draw a boundary line that will magically create your private office?
The rest is history, it’s the recent history of Mentarossa.
Each of these ideas has been transformed with irony and lightness into funny video pills, which have become part of a landing page to be consulted through the QR code on the kit.
But not only that. Short testimonials (we swear they are absolutely true…), also present on the landing page, provide further ideas on how to use calma&gesso in many other circumstances.
Yes, we must admit, we had a lot of fun creating calma&gesso, but this kit is much more than just a joke.
calma&gesso is the demonstration of how creativity can enhance any product or service, it is proof that good communication can break down any barrier and, above all, achieve results.
Are you looking for an original idea for your brand, your product and/or service? Write to us!
share
