Morgan Crossing: Escape from Boringville

Problem: Like the rest of the world economy, Metro Vancouver area’s real estate market was experiencing tough times due to the recession of 2008. Investors had disappeared from the market and buyers were cautious to purchase. Many real estate projects during this period began entering into a strategy of massive discounting and incentive offers to entice purchases. At this point, it was a game of who could give the best deal. Morgan Crossing, however, did not want to drop its prices but still position itself competitive in the market.

Solution: Morgan Crossing was positioned using its differentiating factor that no other real estate development could offer: an intimate village lifestyle. Morgan Crossing is the first lifestyle centre with residential and commercial units in Western Canada. We drew on this aspect to build an argument that one could either lead a dull and boring life in the suburbs (or at any other condo development far from shops, restaurants, and services) OR live at Morgan Crossing, a place with vibrancy, community, and charm all with-in a village walk.

Function: The beige campaign was developed. The beige campaign is best exemplified by a married couple spray-painted completely in beige from head to hair to toe. They stand in-front of their suburban home with extremely bored expressions on their face. Headlines accompanying the hero shot read expressions of just how boring life in the suburbs is, such as, “There’s a ton of stuff to do, if you have a full tank of gas”.

The idea behind the campaign was to create a stark contrast between life in suburbia which was termed “Boringville” for the campaign and Morgan Crossing, a vibrant walk-able village community.

This concept was applied to online banners where the beige couple were shown and users were asked to help them escape “Boringville”. They then used their mouse cursor to paint over them revealing Morgan Crossing. A second online banner asked users to spot the difference between two suburban homes. Multiple tries will reveal that there is no difference between homes - the concept, life in suburbia is boring.

Classified Ads were also done in which people were selling things they no longer needed because they were leaving “Boringville”, such as the person who was selling her rare rock collection.

An art installation was also setup outside the Morgan Crossing sales centre consisting of a mini-van and mannequins painted beige. The art installation depicted 5 mannequins running away from their beige mini-van and scaling a large sign that read, "Morgan Crossing: Where to Live" - essentially they are trying to get into "Boringville".

An online video was also created and placed on the Morgan Crossing website contrasting "Boringville" and Morgan Crossing.

Credits:

Client: Morgan Crossing

Advertising Agency: Spring Advertising, Vancouver, Canada

Country: Canada