News

Dolmio creates pepper grinder which powers down Wifi in order to have a tech-free dinner

Dolmio has turned to technology to help defeat the scourge of screen-obsessed children with the launch of its Pepper Hacker, a pepper grinder which powers down TVs, shut off Wifi and mobile apps in an effort to end dinner time distractions.

To demonstrate how it works, Dolmio “secretly filmed” reactions of the technology obsessed families once their tech was switched off and dinner was served.

The campaign, created by Clemenger BBDO Sydney, is a response to research which found two thirds of Australian households report arguments over the use of technology at dinner, with four out of five families saying it should be banned at the table.

Richard Stear, marketing director at Mars Food Australia, said: “We believe that meals shared with family and friends are often distracted by the very technology that is supposed to bring us closer together, so we’ve created the Dolmio Pepper Hacker to help connect us with the people in front of us.

“The Dolmio Pepper Hacker might not be available to every household yet but we believe that our experiment perfectly shows that once you disconnect from your technology at the dinner table you can really connect as a family.”

Clemenger BBDO Sydney executive creative director Paul Nagy said: “I have three daughters, aged four to 13, and I can tell you that the more connected the world is, the more disconnected we are at home. If I’ve got a problem with my iPad, I hand it to my four year-old to fix it for me.

“Dolmio wanted us to reconnect families at dinnertime, so naturally we crossed a pepper cracker with something like an EMP (one of those electromagnetic bomb things that knocks out anything technical) and created the Dolmio Pepper Hacker. Seriously, we did.

“One turn of the grinder and you don’t just get a sprinkle of pepper – you get 30 minutes of tech-free, uninterrupted family time – whether they like it or not. Having used it at home for a couple of weeks now, I can whole-heartedly say it is one of the greatest things I’ve ever been a part of creating. Dinnertime is fun again.”

Credits:

  • Executive Creative Director: Paul Nagy
  • Creative Director: Luke Hawkins
  • Creative Director: Ben Smith
  • Lead Creative: Hadleigh Sinclair
  • Lead Creative: Jack Delmonte
  • Head of Creative Technology: Brendan Forster
  • Planning Director: Kit Lansdell
  • Group Account Director: Madeleine Marsh
  • Account Manager: Nick Alcock
  • Head of Integrated Production: Denise McKeon
  • Content Producer: Annabel Jewers
  • Content Director: Robin Sung
  • Content Editor: George Tyler
  • Sound Editor: Ant Tiernan
  • Head of Craft: Tim McPherson
  • Senior Designer: Dan Mortensen
  • Social Planner: Toby Clark
  • Additional Creative Team: Tom Russell, Katrina Jarratt
  • Tech Production Partner: Pollen
  • PR: Ogilvy PR
  • Media: Starcom
ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.