Behind Closed Doors - Fennel | Clapboard Ad Archive

Fennel's Behind Closed Doors campaign, created by 10 Days and launched in the United States in the electronic devices and public interest market in 2023, delivers a pointed critique of corporate governance by thrusting viewers into a dramatized re-enactment of a major fast-food conglomerate’s 2022 annual general meeting. Drawing meticulously from official meeting records, the campaign unveils a succession of boardroom decisions in which accountability and sustainability concerns—plastic pollution, lobbying, antibiotic use in livestock—are repeatedly dismissed, while an executive pay increase of 84.5% is ushered through in stark contrast to competitors’ public commitments. Rather than depict environmental devastation or disengaged investors directly, the work embodies what Clapboard’s taxonomy defines as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem—relying on the boardroom as a physical metaphor for the opacity and inertia that characterise corporate inertia on issues of pressing public interest. Scripted entirely from real AGM transcripts, the film medium situates the audience as witnesses, framing the shareholder not simply as a passive investor but as an agent with the right—and now the tools—to intervene during proxy season, when such decisions become actionable. By timing the campaign’s rollout to coincide with the annual peak in shareholder voting and offering an incentive to download the Fennel app, the brand builds immediate relevance and a frictionless call to action, transforming awareness into participation against the backdrop of investor empowerment. Structural alignment with transparency-driven challenger brands in fintech, but a distinctive emphasis on uncovering and acting upon the fine print of boardroom proceedings, differentiates Fennel’s value proposition meaningfully: not just democratizing access, but catalysing advocacy rooted in verifiable data. With over 135,000 views on its primary asset and strategic use of social channels for amplification, the campaign’s resonance is supported by an engagement profile that speaks to the appetite for both accountability and action. Clapboard rates this 71/100. Behind Closed Doors signals to brands and agencies alike that dramatizing the mechanics of influence—with rigor, evidence, and tactical empathy for the audience’s latent power—can convert complex systemic issues into actionable demands for change at the intersection of financial technology and social responsibility.