Inside the Campaign: Team One’s “Visionaries Wanted”

The 4A’s features the work of its members via the series Inside the Campaign. Here, Team One takes you inside its campaign for The Legacy Lab, “Visionaries Wanted”.

Campaign: Visionaries Wanted

Agency: Team One

Client: The Legacy Lab

Description:
Inspired by Ernest Shackleton’s famous ad, “MEN WANTED for hazardous journey,” Team One created a campaign to launch The Legacy Lab’s inaugural Honors program: an initiative to recognize brand leaders making a long-term difference in a short-term world.

Background:
Founded in 2012, The Legacy Lab is a Los Angeles-based think tank exploring the dynamics of long-term brand building in a short-term world. It focuses on ambitious leaders—remarkable men and women who have succeeded in making their brands enduringly unique, inspiring and influential—even as the times, technology and competition change around them.

In recognition of the rare types of leaders they have been studying, The Legacy Lab created the Honors as an annual peer-based program that identifies and celebrates those rare leaders whose brands are making a durable difference in the world.

Beginning in 2017, The Legacy Lab Honors will distinguish 10 laureates—five founders and five refounders. Founders are entrepreneurs who are still leading the brand they established more than three years ago. Refounders are leaders who are guiding more established brands through their next chapter.

This year’s first class of honorees include Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Ellen Chen and Mario Del Pero (Mendocino Farms), Scott Harrison (charity: water), Debbie Sterling (GoldieBlox), David Remnick (The New Yorker), Robert Safian (Fast Company), Deb Dugan (RED), Richard Lewis (The Championships, Wimbledon) and Brendan Shanahan (Toronto Maple Leafs).

Strategy/Objective:
In this inaugural year, the imperative was to both drive awareness and comprehension of The Legacy Lab Honors. Our strategic shorthand was to create a newsworthy conversation about the qualities of true, enduring leadership.

Execution/Media:
The creative approach was inspired by Ernest Shackleton’s famous ad for men to undertake a hazardous journey. As legend has it, Shackleton, the explorer, placed a wanted ad looking for a rare breed of brave, resilient men to join him on his dangerous journey to the South Pole: “MEN WANTED for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.” In turn, Team One, crafted a unique search ad for each of this year’s Legacy Lab Honorees.

For example, to find a leader like Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, the wanted ad read:

“VISIONARY WANTED: Seeking uncompromising environmental advocate to radically transform the way we climb & conserve. Must be skilled blacksmith, inventor, designer & falconer. Must prefer sustainability to salary. Climb rocks, not ladders. Contract length: 40 years minimum w/option to extend… Only qualified applicants will be considered.”

Team One then actually placed these wanted ads in the classified sections of newspapers across the country to see what would happen. After a vetting process, a follow-up announcement ran, referencing the wanted ad that said, “When this ad ran in 2017, no one qualified. But in 1973, one person did. Join us in welcoming Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, Founder of the Year, to the inaugural class of The Legacy Lab Honors.”

It was a timely ad campaign, about an unusual job search, looking for visionary leaders who are making a lasting contribution. You can see a sample of the campaign, including some of the wanted ads, below.

Examples of the Ads

From a targeting perspective, the ads were aimed at business leaders—like the founders and refounders being honored—plus tomorrow’s legacy-makers—the ones looking for role models to inspire their own future ambitions. In turn, ads ran in business publications like Bloomberg Businessweek, and in social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Credits:
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Graves
Chief Strategy Officer: Mark Miller
Jr. Strategic Planner: Lauren Mabuni
Associate Creative Director: Davide Vismara
Associate Creative Director: Mary Toves
Marketing Director: Heather Hogan
Senior Project Manager: Rosheila Robles
Associate Media Director: Elaine Evangelista
Media Planner: Jacky Yang
Associate Producer: Nikole Knak