Crayola
[ CUT 04 ]
[ LUT: RUBY ] [ COORDS: 40.7301° N, 75.1915° W ]
[ SENSOR: ACTIVE ] [ 24 FPS ]
[ BAT: 95% ]

CRAYOLA

THE 64 DAYS
OF CRAYOLA

Rogue Writer & Design Project Director:
Omar Silwany
Designs by Rachel Doyon
Design Director: Don Zinzell
CCO: Gordon Bowen
mcgarrybowen

Late Summer 2008. Crayola came to mcgarrybowen with a holiday wish list. Four wishes: Generate awareness across all products. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic 64 box. Unify three TV spots already in production. Make it a successful holiday retail season. I looked at the calendar. 64 days covered the last 64 days of the year. The entire retail season. One number granted all four wishes. The 64 Days of Crayola. The most successful holiday retail campaign in its category that year.
The 64 Days of Crayola Campaign Logo

Campaign Identity

On the first day of Crayola, my parents gave to me...

1 The gift of creativity
2 TaDoodles Doodling
3 Glow Boards Glowing
4 Color Surges Surging
5 Model Magics Fusing
6 Color Wonders Spraying
7 Pip-Squeaks A'Squeaking
8 Cutters A'Cutting
9 Color Explosions Bursting
10 Glow Stations Gleaming
11 Light Brushes Blazing
12 Twisty Twistables Twiddling
13 TaDoodles Scribbling N' Singing
14 Glitter Kits Glittering
15 Fine Line Markers Streaking
16 Mini Stampers Stomping
17 Silly Scents A'Smelling

Song Lyrics

Web Video :60

Web Video :30

Broadcast End Treatment

The 64 Days of Crayola Microsite

Microsite

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Bus Shelter

Bus Shelter

Billboard

Billboard

THE CHALLENGE

Late Summer 2008. Crayola's holiday wish list arrived: generate awareness across all products, celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic 64-count box, unify three TV spots already in production, and deliver a successful holiday retail season. Four distinct objectives with no connecting thread. The clock was ticking. The spots were in production. The retail season was approaching.

THE INSIGHT

I looked at the calendar. 64 days. The last 64 days of the year covered the entire retail season — from late October through New Year's Eve. The number wasn't arbitrary. It was the retail calendar. It was the anniversary. It was already in the brand DNA. One number could grant all four wishes.

THE WORK

The campaign borrowed the "12 Days of Christmas" structure, but started right after Halloween — extending through New Year's to cover the entire retail season. Crayola's product names were perfect for alliteration: "12 TaDoodles Doodling." Each line was crafted to sing about a different product, solving the first wish — generate awareness across all products. The manifesto became a song. The song became the campaign.

THE IMPACT

The 64 Days of Crayola became the most successful holiday retail campaign in its category that year. It gave Crayola their most successful holiday retail season to date. Featured in The New York Times. The campaign proved that the best creative solutions don't come from inventing new ideas — they come from finding the number that was always there.