Torch Gets Suggestive In Campaign For Its Parental Internet Filter

Start-up internet company Torch initially approached creative agency Fancy Rhino with a straight-forward proposal: executives wanted "quiet, boring direction" to promote its technology that provides parents with tools to filter Internet content, says Vann Graves, president, CCO, Fancy Rhino. "They wanted no humor."

Instead, Torch is going in the opposite direction with a new funny and edgy campaign that embraces innuendo to "adult proof" the Internet. "Most [campaigns] try to scare parents and say the world is not safe," says Graves. This campaign, by contrast, shows that parents are their own worst enemy. "We didn't want to child proof it, but [rather] adult-proof the Internet."

The campaign concept plays off popular adult slang - such as blue balls, pearl necklaces, and happy endings –with images that convey the far more innocent connections that most kids associate with the terms.

advertisement

advertisement

And each reinterpreted slang phrase is linked to a local Tennessee business. For instance, those that visit the Happy Endings microsite will be directed to a Chattanooga, TN wedding photographer. Similarly, Blue Balls will take visitors to Mountain Top Toys whose logo is traditionally red balls. "No one we approached turned us down," says Graves, noting that even the elderly lady from the local jewelry retailer tagged to the pearl necklace term was game for the campaign.

One of the ads can be seen here.

Ultimately, the effort is designed to resonate with adults by playing with their preconceived notions. "Young kids won't get [the terms] but adults will," says Graves. "You learn a lot about people--my grandma seemed to know what all of the terms meant except tossed salad." 

In addition to the creative, Fancy Rhino is building Torch’s brand identity from scratch, including brand messaging, logo and website. The goal during this initial phase is to raise money through Kickstarter by targeting mom and parent blogs. Torch hopes to reach $150,000, with people already donating $50,000 during the initiative's first seven days. The second phase will expand to print and out-of-home media to target actual users in the coming months. 

The project also marks Fancy Rhino’s first start-up investment through a partnership with Torch. Both companies are owned by the same venture capitalist incubator Lamp Post Group and the creative agency is now an equity holder in Torch. 

The Torch brand building effort was led by Graves, the former EVP and Global ECD at McCann Worldgroup who recently joined Fancy Rhino. "There's greater risk, but greater reward," says Graves. He appreciates the "wide-open" willingness to explore more provocative creative messages. "When you deal with a brand that has a heritage, [a lot of times] you have someone paid to protect that backstory," says Graves. Newer brands, by comparison, are free from that baggage. "Many times you have clients that [tell you to] just sell and get out of the way. We in the industry are always talking about the importance of story-telling and [building brands] is a chance to [develop strong creative]." 

Next story loading loading..