An 18-Pound Fish Worth of Clickbait from Zippo Lighters

Zippo, the penultimate lighter for pop culture bad asses, hardcore survivalists, and smart shoppers (it’s the go-to windproof lighter!) alike, has a new, empowering message these days with their #livewithconfidence campaign.

The campaign has been live since June, according to this press release, but it only now stood out to me when we got super specific with the recent video relating a true story about one fish, one lighter, and one strike (seriously, it lit on the first go).

It was enough to have me stop my scroll and watch and then watch it again.

Let’s break this down

Zippo’s one of those heritage brands that got tried-and-true products, most notably the lighter, although they also have outdoor products.

This new #livewithconfidence campaign will, as Zippo says, “support the brand’s evolution” over 90 years, tie in with packaging and then some.

It also smartly harkens back to its lifetime guarantee, the craftsmanship of the product, and its history as a U.S. heritage brand. Things we know inherently and don’t really need to have shoved at us again.

“Live With Confidence is more than a tagline. It speaks directly to who we are as a company — built in the USA with pride by people confident in craftsmanship,” Lucas Johnson, Associate Vice President of Global Marketing at Zippo. “It also embodies who our customers are and how they aspire to live.”

Why I love this

Why do I love this? Let me count the ways . . . or make a quick list: great use of video, engaging storytelling, it’s taking its core values as a brand and finding that turn of narrative that really stands out. . .

Also, fine, if you can’t enjoy the fact that this is actual click-bait— an 18-pound fish was once caught and the Zippo lighter inside it worked on first strike? Come on!— then what can you enjoy?

It’s super simple but looking solely at their Instagram it’s gaining attention. Here’s a quick screen grab of the Fish Video (left) and the latest IG ASMR video (right).

Why I Stopped Scrolling

Honestly, they had me at, “yeah this actually happened” in the caption, and the video itself helps people like me who refuses to put the sound on on IG.

The story is real, the content is high quality, and this example is just so odd that it stands out in the campaign overall.

A deep dive doesn’t spend as much time on narratives but more on empowering individuals, from lighters at a rock concert to a lighter used by a bartender. They promise to share a real-life story of a veteran whose life was saved by a Zippo lighter, but I haven’t seen that narrative in a stand out video yet. Though I think that will be the other stand out.

Lessons Learned and How to Replicate

• Ask yourself how your campaign ties back into your core values?
• What emotion does your content tie back to? Why should people stop scrolling?
• In your social media balance everyday with extraordinary (bartender making cocktail vs. fish!)
• Talk to your customers! Check-in! You never know what amazing stories they have to share with you. You never know, you might have key moments in customers’ lives, like this . . .

Resources

Fastco has a great piece here about the last big Zippo campaign if you’re interested.

Follow Zippo Lighters here to follow their campaign