There is always a healthier way - Bakuriani | Clapboard Ad Archive
Bakuriani’s There is always a healthier way campaign, launched in Georgia in 2014 with creative agency Leavingstone, stands as an instructive case in how to embed brand values within the everyday lives of consumers without resorting to conventional product messaging. Centered on the daily experience of commuters in the Tbilisi metro, where one in three escalators routinely lies dormant, the campaign transformed a familiar inconvenience into a live behavioral nudge by activating the escalator’s staircase as a fitness challenge. Passengers could either take the passive, slow-moving escalator or opt into a spirited ascent, jogging up the stairs in a scene reminiscent of Rocky Balboa’s iconic training montage. By reframing a ubiquitous, frequently overlooked moment of routine as a stage for self-improvement, the activation smartly leverages symbolic action — rather than direct product engagement — as a means to communicate Bakuriani’s proposition as a champion of healthy, energetic living within the non-alcoholic drinks market. The strategy sits squarely in what Clapboard’s taxonomy identifies as FORMAT#9 — Symbolize the Benefit, using the theatrics of choice and the exaggerated metaphor of the switched-off escalator to dramatize Bakuriani’s role as a catalyst for vitality. Crucially, the activation’s placement in a high-density, public environment extended its reach across demographics, reinforcing Bakuriani’s accessibility and relevance while encouraging spontaneous participation and peer visibility — each jogger becoming both audience and protagonist in a collective act of healthy behavior. The campaign draws its creative strength from its simplicity and immediacy; by transforming a routine commuter habit into a micro-moment of personal achievement, it uplifts the brand above competitive noise and makes wellness feel tangible, attainable, and even aspirational. Operating within the food and drink category, the work reflects a growing appetite from brands to transcend transactional messaging and enter the cultural fabric through lived, memorable experience rather than scripted narrative. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. At a time when health-led storytelling in drinks marketing can feel abstract or didactic, this campaign matters because it demonstrates the impact of literal, participative symbolism in anchoring brand purpose where it is least expected.