I paid money to stay awake for 24 hours at Crash Campaign
We actually thought ‘make sweat your bitch’ was an acceptable tagline
Last weekend, around 40 students (myself included) piled into Carroll Hall, armed with laptops – and blankets – for the second annual Crash Campaign.
Teams worked on advertising campaigns from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, returning Sunday morning to pitch our ideas and network with professionals in the ad field.
Friday, 4.45pm
Each team was assigned a local client: Carpe Lotion, Maple View Ice Cream, Chapel Hill Training or Lonerider Brewery. We had just 24 hours to create an entire ad campaign to pitch to the client.
Yes, I paid $15 to participate, but the food alone was well worth it. Snacks galore.
Friday, 6pm
I was thrown into a room with four complete strangers, but sharing the workload, stress and hysteria stemming from a lack of sleep, we bonded quickly.
Our campaign headquarters
Friday, 6-8pm
We researched our client and began to strategize our campaign. Then we hit the Quan and did some Zumba. We needed a dance break.
Late night Zumba break
Friday, 8pm to Saturday, 5am
We brainstormed, and brainstormed, and brainstormed, and brainstormed. For nine hours.
Saturday, 5-6am
We napped because we were so delirious that we actually thought “Make sweat your bitch” was an acceptable tagline.
The later it got, the crazier our ideas became
It may not seem like much, but those 40 minutes of sleep (and 20 minutes of lying uncomfortably in a chair) did wonders.
Saturday, 6am-5.45pm
We found a sound campaign idea and finally got to work on production. We wrote, designed, compiled and finessed.
Saturday, 6pm
We looked like shit. But our presentation looked great. Our team split up for the first time in over 24 hours and we all went home and slept like babies.
Sunday, 9.30am
We returned to Carroll transformed into young professionals with only the faintest bags under our eyes.
Me and the team before our pitch. Thanks to Connor Atkins
Sunday, 9am-12pm
Each team pitched to their clients and several judges from regional advertising firms.
Sunday, 2-3pm
All teams returned to Carroll for the awards ceremony. Against all odds, the overall winner was the smallest team, made up of only two students, Mariel Emery and Caroline Warburton. YGG (x2).
Winners Caroline and Mariel
Sunday, 3-4pm
Students talked to the judges and ate cake to celebrate their survival. Seriously, three students didn’t make it all the way through.
Sunday, 4pm
Time for more sleep.