If We Made It

Read the campaign story

Newcastle and Droga5 built If We Made It around an imagined Super Bowl advertisement in 2014. D&AD documents teasers, would-be celebrity interviews and a storyboard presentation, while The One Club records the creative team. These pieces form one connected counterfactual campaign rather than independent cases for each performer or format.

The archive describes substantial attention, but this study does not reproduce its reach estimates or infer a causal sales result. The source’s budget premise is treated as part of the campaign account, not a general finding that inexpensive work always outperforms paid media. The case examines how an unrealised production can become a complete entertainment proposition without requiring the audience to believe that it actually happened.

Editorial interpretation: the idea uses the machinery around a large advertisement as its subject. Anticipation, casting and behind-the-scenes material become the story rather than support for another film. This can create a useful contrast between extravagant expectations and a deliberately modest execution. It works best when viewers understand the joke and can recognise the brand’s role without needing specialist knowledge of the advertising industry.

Editorial interpretation: a hypothetical can reveal ambition while avoiding the cost of literal spectacle, but it still requires a satisfying conclusion. Repeatedly promising an absent object can frustrate people if the surrounding material offers no independent value. The team should define what the audience receives at each stage and why the final explanation makes the earlier pieces feel intentional rather than like an abandoned project.

Make the fictional frame legible

Decide how viewers will recognise that they are seeing an imagined production, not a claim about completed work. Check isolated clips as well as the full sequence because content travels without context. A playful premise should not create false expectations about a real event, celebrity endorsement or available product. Put necessary clarifications where the audience encounters the claim, rather than reserving them for a later reveal.

Give every supporting piece its own purpose

A teaser, interview and storyboard should each contribute a different perspective instead of repeating the same joke. Map the information and entertainment value of each element. Remove pieces that require excessive explanation or exist only to increase content volume. A small team can test the structure with text and original sketches before considering production, licensing or distribution expenses.

Measure the story people actually take away

Ask viewers to explain what was fictional, what the brand offered and why the campaign existed. Separate amusement from product understanding and perceived honesty. Compare the counterfactual with a straightforward creative statement using the same underlying proposition. A memorable parody may still fail if people remember only the production joke and cannot identify the organisation or its relevant point of difference.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: create a private illustrated pitch for a fictional bookshop’s impossibly elaborate opening ceremony, then resolve it with a modest, clearly described reading-room concept.

Measure comprehension of the fictional premise, recall of the actual concept and reactions to the final resolution. Ask whether any piece suggests a real booking or endorsement. Compare the sequence with a direct invitation, and prefer the elaborate framing only when it adds useful meaning rather than simply making the announcement longer.

Stop if the concept misrepresents completed work, implies unauthorised endorsement or leaves a reasonable viewer expecting an event that will not occur.

• Use original fictional performers and no real event marks.
• Label the imagined production throughout.
• Test with consenting adults without advertising alcohol or publishing a false event.