It’s amazing what happens sometimes when you listen and look for a new vein of authentic storytelling. One new example, and it’s a great one, involves hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the work of the Tim Horton’s brand…and a long forgotten napkin. The result is one of the most evocative stories told in some time in media, let alone in sports branding.
The details, and how the creative team found a small nugget of a story and blossomed it into such great visual art is contained here and is a worthwhile read, but the overlay of timing and creativity is a great testament to what happens when you can be smart, authentic, creative and expand an opportunity into a bigger engagement.
In short, the Gretzky family found a napkin…one that a young Wayne had gotten from hockey legend Tim Horton that he had signed at a local store for a young Wayne…and it brought back such powerful memories for the hockey legend that he openly talked about how that simple act of signing by Horton, helped inspire a young player to great heights. The slight backstory that comes out though is that Gretzky showed up for the signing by chance and didn’t have anything for Horton to sign, so the veteran player found a napkin that was sitting there. He could have shooed him away, but he took the time to do something little, never knowing how big it could become in the eyes of a child.
The fact that the napkin was saved and found and how the whole story ties together is a visual gem, which will give millions…not just Canadians or hockey fans…a great lift as the holiday season rolls along. It does what stories are supposed to do; place us in the moment, inspire us and help make us realize, even for a minute, that there are little things we can do to just lift those around us.
Ironically I saw this on the seventh anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and it serves as a great reminder that we should all do the little things; because little acts of kindness all add up.
Now of course Tim Horton’s is in the beverage business and the coffee business has never been more competitive. But even for the most jaded and cynical, this story will inspire more than coffee cups, and it shows hopefully, that the brand too aspires to more.
Do the little things; you never know how they will impact the greater good. Just ask “The Great One” and a late hockey legend.
