Mind if I pop up?
New work from Campo Viejo, Barbour, Alpro, and Taco Bell.
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Apparently, a few grains of salt make bad coffee taste better by getting rid of some of the bitter flavours. The same, as I have discovered, does not apply for a pot of bolognese sauce that you accidentally left on the stove for 2 hours too long.
Anyway - in this Breakdown, we're looking at ✨ pop-ups ✨ - brand activations that involve small-scale, super-local *things* for people to see and do.
As a caveat - I don’t mean to be too harsh on the work this week. All of it is fun and interactive and well-designed. Personally, I think activations like these need to be really, really excellent to justify the money spent on them, and the time taken by real people to interact with them. P.S. - the best work (in my opinion) is at the end.
So, here’s work from Campo Viejo, Barbour, Alpro, and Taco Bell.
1. Campo Viejo “uncorks creativity”
Some of the best art in the world was created with the aid of a Spanish red.
Campo Viejo has taken over Covent Garden this weekend, transforming The Stables into "Casa Pasión" — an interactive experience that’s just as much about art as it is about wine. Running until 13 October (you’re already too late!), the event invites guests to paint, sip, and snack their way through a creative immersion, celebrating the vibrancy of Spain and Campo Viejo’s signature passion.
Attendees can quite literally leave their mark by painting walls, furniture, or anything else that calls to them—all while enjoying some delectable Spanish bites and, of course, Campo Viejo wine.
The idea is to elevate a sip-and-paint event into something… a bit more. Now I’ve done drunk pottery, and can confirm it’s good, if bonkers expensive, fun. And as a piece of marketing, I suppose this is harmless enough - it looks like good, very well-natured fun.
But there’s supposed to be a brand story about passion and creativity and colour in here. Listening to some very experienced and nuanced voices on interior design before sloshing some paint at some walls with a glass of wine somehow doesn’t quite match up. I’m being cynical, but I naturally am cynical about activations like this. The executive director at John Doe, one of the agencies who helped bring this to life, even said that this is
“an experience that has the potential to spill out into other channels and really squeeze the value out of every drop.”
The brand story seems faint here. I don’t think Spanish flair and creativity and passion includes Instagram.
2. Barbour also ‘take over’ Covent Garden
It must be like a battlefield, what with all these brands trying to take it over.
Barbour has turned a corner of Covent Garden into a showcase of British craftsmanship with its 'Icons in Quilting' exhibition, celebrating 30 years of its iconic Liddesdale jacket. Housed within a Quilted Cube, this interactive exhibition is a look back at Barbour’s legacy in design.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a collection of restored and reimagined Liddesdale jackets, each given new life by names like Paul Smith, Baracuta, and David Gandy. Even Shaun the Sheep makes an appearance, bringing a charming touch of British quirkiness to the lineup. And in true Barbour fashion, these one-of-a-kind creations are being auctioned off to support The Royal Countryside Fund, reinforcing the brand’s deep-rooted connection to rural Britain.
Now this is what I have in mind when I think brand activation.
Very much like the Campo Viejo work, this type of thing really only starts with some deep, deep introspection. I don’t think I’ll get too many disagreements that it’s all a bit navel-gazey and self-aggrandising. What is a ‘story’ that we can put on as a show for… whoever happens to be around at the time.
At least with this work, there is something hyper-specific. Being distinctive as a wine brand is hard - I’m not trying to be unfair to Campo Viejo. But the diamond quilt pattern is *so* Barbour that this pop-up just makes sense. All of the guff about quality sounds lovely, but it is guff. To me, this work is an excellent reminder that Barbour exists, and that they do indeed have some cultural and historical relevance. And that’s good marketing.
3. Alpro commission some awesome art
Aaaaand we’re back to navel-gazing.
Is this one of the best pieces of street art I’ve ever seen?
Yes.
Do I have any idea why Alpro had it made?
Big no.
The art is meant to capture the coffee scene in East London - vibrant, exciting, new, fashionable etc. etc. That’s cool. It supposedly is also meant to get passers-by to stop with their morning coffee, a metaphor for Alpro’s focus on making coffee moments special. Even with the logic that coffee drinkers who really care about their coffee will also appreciate classic art, cool street art, the idea of a thriving coffee ‘scene’ and so on, I feel like this is a loosely held metaphor.
I think it’s unfortunate that this came up at the same time as the work below from Oatly. Both are dairy-alternative drinks brands that want people to use them more in hot drinks. But I think one is more effective than the other.
Which works better? The one that features beautiful art and none of the brand, or the one that says, plain as day, exactly what they want people to think?
4. Taco Bell transport you to taco heaven
One simple idea that makes students’ lives better.
Taco Bell is making sure no late-night craving goes unsatisfied with its latest student-focused campaign, 'The Student Tour.' In partnership with youth marketing agency Seed, Taco Bell is whisking university students from their favorite club nights straight to the nearest restaurant — via branded tuk tuks. Because after a long night out, what could be better than a Crunchwrap Supreme to cap it all off?
Ok, so let’s not beat around the bush - this is a little bit of a rip-off of some Gaviscon work some years back. That campaign featured a food truck stocked with anti-heartburn fast food, because heartburn shouldn’t get in the way of living your life.
It’s kinda the same insight - when you’re on a night out, you want fast food, fast, and you don’t want to ruin the night trying to get it.
But I DON’T CARE.
Look, if at some very high level, brands exist to more effectively get people to spend money on products that deliver some benefit (be it convenience, status, health or whatever else), then marketing that also delivers against that benefit feels so satisfying.
Gaviscon stops heartburn from getting in the way - so they toured a food truck. Taco Bell sell gut-destroying but delicious fake Mexican food - so they helped people get there quicker. This is what brand activations should be - fun(ny) ways of expanding the benefit you deliver to customers, of materialising the shit you say in your ads into something that people will appreciate.
Oh, and the best news? It’s not over. If you’re in Cambridge, Bristol, or Cardiff, then the tuk tuk is coming to you soon.
Until next time,
Ewan
CSO & Co-Founder at Briefly