2009 PRO Awards: The Duracell Power Lodge

Agency: Gigunda Group, The Integer Group, Paine P.R., PEP
Client: Duracell

This campaign gets kudos for out-of-the-box thinking, for they not only had to create an imaginative and memorable brand-building campaign, they had to “invent” the technology to make it work! The primary goal of was to power the numerals 2-0-0-9 atop  Times Square on New Year’s Eve so that they light up at midnight entirely from human power.

They achieved this goal by building a “Duracell Power Lodge”. From Nov. 24 to Dec. 31, visitors from all over the world went to the Duracell booth at 1541 Broadway (piggybacked onto the Charmin restrooms for extra exposure) and rode one of six snowmobikes. In total, the visitors generated 9.24 kilowatt hours, which lit the 2009 sign for 20 minutes.

Consumers also spent an average of 31 minutes each relaxing in a Duracell branded lodge — a place where tired shoppers could “recharge” themselves as well as their digital and mobile devices. Through partnerships with Mattel and Nintendo, Duracell also offered enjoyment through six Wii stations and a look into the latest toys of the season, which were powered by Duracell batteries.

The lodge garnered over 200,000 visitors while the event generated more than 300 million media impressions.