CANNES — Amazon Ads and marketing agency Tinuiti showcased a full-funnel streaming TV campaign for hydration brand Liquid I.V. during an ADWEEK House panel at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2024. The campaign integrated product placement, shoppable ads, and influencer activations across Amazon’s ecosystem, centered on the Prime Video original series Off Campus.

Liquid I.V. integrated into Off Campus, which streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, through multiple branded elements. A lead character in the series is portrayed as a college athlete with a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Liquid I.V. The integration included signage in the hockey rink and visible product placement throughout episodes. "There’s signage in the hockey rink and products as well, so there’s a lot of integration that feels very organic to the storyline," said Jenny Burke, director of global video strategy and go-to-market at Amazon Ads.

In addition to embedded storytelling, Amazon and Tinuiti developed a custom 30-second ad spot featuring the show’s two lead actors in character. Amazon layered shoppable ad formats across its platform to enable immediate purchase during or after viewing, and hosted experiential activations with creators and influencers to extend campaign reach. According to Burke, "The elements here are really soup-to-nuts, and it took us about 12 months to get there, but we’re really excited about doing more."

The collaboration originated after Liquid I.V. representatives connected with Amazon Ads at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in 2023. Jeremy Cornfeldt, president of Tinuiti, emphasized the strategic value of such integrations: "That can really start to drive that brand salience, brand preference, and move you into the consideration set in a way that you probably wouldn’t be able to do from just standard advertising." He also noted the campaign generated significant results, with "65% of our sales attributed to the campaign, which was great, but then we had to sustain it."

Kate McCagg, who leads Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab, framed the partnership as a co-creative effort: "We can tell a story together that we both have a right to tell, and it lands a lot more believably with people when they see it." Held annually in June at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has served since 1954 as a global gathering for professionals in advertising, marketing, and creative communications.