Scary Good Tools + Sailing Down the Space Coast: Advertising Winners and New Entries

Scary powerful tools get fun monster makeovers with past Gold-winning advertisements, and a new entry shows people space-based fun on the beach!

When Snap-On Tools created its PT338 3/8″ Air Impact impact wrench, it was unlike any tool they had created. When the company approached Traction Factory to promote it, they knew they had to bring something fresh and exciting to the table. This is what led to “Stubzilla” (above, left). Referencing the famous giant monster Godzilla, the poster showcases the impact tool as a giant crowded by tall skyscrapers and looming over soldiers on the city streets below. The poster’s accompanying copy, “Rampaging through crowded areas other impacts don’t dare to go” and “Born with freakish looks and a vendetta against hidden fasteners” illustrates how this new product is designed to be smaller and easier to use in tight and confined spaces. Both the copy and the title are stylized with font reminiscent of both the Godzilla comic books and movie materials. Introduced on a rolling, regional basis, the launch of the PT338 was a success. Traction Factory delivered a marketing activation kit to franchisees that reinforced key selling features of the product for use on the van leading to the trial of the product.

For Snap-On Tools’ latest design CT9010 cordless impact wrench, Traction Factory referenced another popular monster with “Frankimpact” (above, left), an ad concept that brings personality to the CT9010 tools with messaging aimed to disrupt and build on the “Stubzilla” campaign materials. To illustrate the power associated with the impact wrench, Traction Factory decided to recreate the memorable “It’s Alive” scene from the classic monster movie Frankenstein. To do so, they transformed their lead product designer into a mad scientist and digitally created a laboratory for him to communicate the power inherent in the tool. The fun visual concept was used in all campaign launch materials: poster, on-van merchandising, social media, and monthly sales materials shared with every technician customer during the launch in 2019.

“Cruising Florida’s Space Coast” (above) is a campaign promoting the Space Coast Office of Tourism executed by the Flordia-based advertising agency, &Barr. With more people cruising out of Port Canaveral than ever before, the SCOT saw the perfect opportunity to attract more travelers to their array of activities. However, thanks partly to miscommunication from travel sites, the current consumer perception is that they should stay in Orlando when they stop at Port Canaveral, despite the fact that the port is located on the Space Coast. To remedy this, the SCOT wanted a campaign that not only raises awareness of the post-Canaveral locations on the space coast but also encourages tourists to stay one extra day. For their approach, &Barr created a research-based strategy that highlighted the proximity to the “out-of-this-world attractions”, 72 miles of coastline, and memories that would last a lifetime. To further emphasize the port’s proximity to the unique experiences along the space coast, &Barr also designed and built a custom ship gangplank that they sailed up and down the coast. With countless hours of planning, weeks of pre-pro, and four days of shooting, &Barr was able to produce a stunning visual campaign that captures the inherent uniqueness of the destination while communicating the ease of access from Port Canaveral.

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