• by Tanya Gazdik , July 9, 2009

"The Web today has changed the way we communicate -- and in launching this campaign virally, it allows Evian, a global brand, to reach consumers worldwide in a way that traditional media cannot," says Evian Natural Spring Water spokesperson Cameryn Mercurio. "YouTube, in particular, is such a powerful force online, and reaches millions of people globally."

Enchanted with the dancing babies, consumers are sending the URL for the spot by email as well as posting it on their social network pages. As of Thursday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 2.7 million times on YouTube. A "making-of" spot had been viewed more than 460,000 times.

The launch of evianliveyoung.com, created by BETC 4D, is also a major component of this new platform, Mercurio tells Marketing Daily. On this site, consumers can find the two viral "Live young" films and other digital teasers such as: the audio remix, "making-of" clips, and "interviews" with select babies from the film sharing anecdotes from the set. Ninety-six babies were filmed for the spots.

Directed by the award-winning Michael Gracey, the videos portray happy babies roller break-dancing to a remix of the hit "Rapper's Delight" by hip-hop producer Dan the Automator. The aim is to connect consumers to their inner youth, says Remi Babinet, the founder of BETC Euro RSCG and global creative director of the Euro RSCG network. In the ad, the message "Let's observe the effect of Evian on your body" appears, followed by the dancing babies.

"(The campaign) makes use of a number of platforms: music, film, Internet and design, and reinforces Evian's position as an influential, contemporary worldwide brand," Babinet says.

The "Live young" campaign is open-ended, says Mercurio, and will be featured at upscale consumer events around the world, including the Evian Masters Women's Golf tournament in July and the U.S. Open Grand-Slam tennis tournament in August through September.

Prior to the new campaign, Evian's recent ads have focused on new products such as the new glass range for fine dining, including designer bottles from Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix, The "Our factory" campaign that highlighted the pristine source of Evian in the French Alps, and the "Detox with Evian" and "Fill your body with care" campaigns that encouraged consumers to take a closer look at the purity of the water they drink to replenish their bodies.

Evian has not turned a blind eye to the backlash against water in plastic bottles, including some cities banning water bottles. "Most recently, Evian has sponsored Recycle Bank to encourage curbside recycling, implemented recycling bins at brand-sponsored events and introduced post-consumer recycled polyethylene terepthalate (r-PET) in its most popular bottles, the 1L and the 750-mL sizes," Mercurio says.