The OpportunityThe way we work was invented by people who drove a horse to work.
With COVID, things changed. Offices became video calls and work pants became sweatpants. It was the biggest change in work since the assembly line, and it wasn’t going back. Given that Upwork has been helping people work together remotely for nearly a decade, we were more than ready to see the old ways go.
The IdeaWho better to tell us the old ways of work are dead than a dead guy?
That said, many businesses needed a nudge. Who better to announce the old ways of working are dead than an undead CEO Jack McDichael? We partnered with Alto and Ivan Zachariáš for a multi-channel campaign featuring a series of memorable spots where Jack boldly reveals that the old rules of work were entirely made up. Now, it’s time to make up something better, because This Is How We Work Now.
“The old way of working is deader than me”
— Jack McDichael
Building a brand,
not just a brand campaign
In a category full of dry, self-serious, earnest, talk we chose to take an approach that’s filled with wit, irreverence, and has the confidence of a company that has seen the future and returned with a map. Before we even created this campaign we did a deep dive into the brand foundations to redefine our brand tone of voice and help bring levity and differentiation for Upwork in a sea of self serious (and boring) brands.
“This Is How We Work Now” is bigger than a joke about a dead CEO. It’s a stake in the ground. A call to action. A celebration of innovation, collaboration and growth.
Beyond the two-minute musical, the campaign includes a bold visual campaign and 15 different spots, including 60-, 30-, 15- and six-second spots, each with unique narratives in which Jack, the CEO, espouses many of the ways Upwork benefits business owners, all while losing various body parts.
