Responses by Tommy Means, cofounder and chief creative officer, Mekanism.

Background: Rosetta Stone is unique to the category because it’s an incredibly immersive language learning platform that is very easy to use. The target audience is anyone curious to take on a new language with an emphasis on French, German, Spanish and Italian.

Design thinking: Most language learning platforms are either too simplistic and gamified or too complex, therefore uninviting. With Rosetta Stone, it’s so easy to immerse yourself deeply into learning a new language. We thought: ‘What if Rosetta Stone is too immersive?’ That tension inspired the campaign title: “Now You’re Talking.”

Challenges: The key challenge was to approach the category in a completely unexpected way. The category is full of tropes, often leaning into how not knowing a language can lead to misunderstandings, among other things. We needed a way to celebrate the love of language learning with a new narrative.

Favorite details: We are so proud of how these spots were brought to life. Our directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon nailed the casting and delivered beautiful cinematography and production values. The cast delivered nuanced performances showing that joy can be found in language learning. We are particularly proud of the dance choreography through the law office featured in the “Flamenco” spot.

New lessons: We learned that people want to learn a new language, but the biggest barrier to entry is the fear of sounding wrong or being a little awkward, particularly for adults. Empowering folks with a sense of small wins is key to keeping them engaged in the process.

Specific project details: One difficult detail is that we had to show the authentic progression of our cast learning a new language. The French, German and Spanish languages were not native to our cast, so their language journey was very real.

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