Tim Hortons Bills 'Roll Up the Rim' as a Pro Sport in Amusing Mockumentaries

Tim Hortons is encouraging Canadians to warm up their thumbs for another Roll Up the Rim season, and the brand’s biggest annual campaign is officially back in stores on Wednesday, February 6. Roll up the Rim is a yearly contest from Tim Hortons that gives guests the chance to win amazing prizes by rolling up the rim of their coffee cups.

Back for its 33rd season, the 2019 Roll Up the Rim campaign looks back on its history, playfully leaning into the stories of players that make the game what it is. This year’s campaign, created by Zulu Alpha Kilo, treats Roll Up the Rim as a professional sport that unites Canadians season after season. It centres on a series of mockumentary-style videos that celebrate 'Roll Up Legends', an inspirational set of fictional Roll Up players. The Legends’ films, entitled 'The Rivals', 'The Dynasty', 'The Injury' and 'The All-Star', each feature charismatic personalities, relatable Roll Up rituals and reflect Canadians’ passion for the 'Great Sport of Roll Up'.

“We wanted to remind our guests not only how easy it is to win, but also remind them how exciting it is when they do,” says Tim Hortons global creative head, Paloma Azulay. “Our Roll Up Legends help Canadians recall the great the sport of Roll Up and bring back fond memories of playing over the years – in a really fun way.”

In the last several months, the Tims audience has been introduced to a new brand style, starting with the heart-warming hockey story, The Away Game. Azulay promises this is just the beginning of the coffee retailer’s new marketing treatment, and consumers will see more of this with the 2019 Roll Up the Rim campaign.

Zak Mroueh, chief creative officer and founder of Zulu Alpha Kilo, says: “Unconventional work only happens when you have a client who wants to do something breakthrough for their category. Together with our partners at Tims, we wanted to take a modern creative approach to this year’s Roll Up campaign. We believe this creative platform and the mockumentary videos will get Canadians both laughing and rolling up the rim.”

The legendary campaign extends to billboards across Canada, which will feature motivational messages, such as “Roll big or roll home” and “You miss 100% of the rims you don’t roll.” Beyond the traditional outputs, Tim Hortons is also taking a refreshed route into the social and digital spaces.

The digital portion of the campaign echoes the OOH creative and includes extended stories about the Legends on YouTube, along with unique digital extensions including partnerships with Waze and the Score app, further connecting to this year’s reimagined creative about the sport of Roll Up.

For the first time, Tim Hortons is also encouraging Canadians to post pictures of their own legendary Roll Up moments on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using #RollUpTheRim for the chance to win another Jeep Compass. The social piece of the campaign will also include feed posts and stories featuring unique Legends content¬¬, a promoted trend, custom Twitter emoji, along with a foray into branded Giphy animations.

“In working with a refreshed agency mix, we’ve been able to update Tim Hortons approach to storytelling, ensuring every piece of the campaign is thoughtfully and purposefully included,” says Integrated Marketing Communications Lead, Jana Goodbaum. “The key factor, as our guests will see with this year’s Roll Up campaign, is aligning with modern strategies while never forgetting to pay homage to the long-lasting success of and love for Tim Hortons and Roll Up.”

Tim Hortons developed the 2019 Roll Up the Rim campaign in partnership with Zulu Alpha Kilo and their integrated team of agencies: The French Shop, North Strategic, Horizon, and 500 Degrees. The director of the series of spots was Matt Atkinson from Steam Films.