Nestlé Turtles Issued 'Speeding Tickets' to Holiday Shoppers in a Toronto Mall

Want to slow down this frantic holiday season? There’s one sure way. Scarf lots of Nestlé Turtles, packed with chocolate, pecans and caramel. You’ll crash … eventually.

In its first push for the classic confection in Canada, agency Courage positions the candy as a relaxing treat, perfect for sharing with friends and family to relieve seasonal stress.

Of course, turtles rank among the most unhurried creatures. So, everything falls into place.

First, a mall activation, with “speeding tickets” issued to rush-rush shoppers:

The team captured that footage with a speed camera at bustling Sherway Gardens in suburban Toronto. Those machines issued tickets reminding folks to decelerate. They received complimentary Turtles instead of fines.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say we had to nail this concept down to an exact science,” Courage CCO Joel Holtby tells Muse. “It took us a couple months to take machinery geared toward monitoring objects as large as a vehicle and build something new that specialized in clocking actual human movement. It was a challenge, but it worked! The speed camera even picked up someone sprinting by with shopping bags at an impressive 10 KPH, which was both hilarious and relatable.”

Benji Weinstein directed this :30, and the fast-talkin’ cast trained with a cattle auctioneer:

That spot harkens back to the rapid-fire patter of ’80s commercial icon John “Motormouth” Moschitta. Though his words per minute would leave those actors speechless.

“One of the most unifying aspects of the holiday season is that it’s often such a demanding whirlwind of activity,” says Holtby. “But the Turtles brand we’ve come to know over the years has always represented the exact opposite of that: the importance of finding the time to appreciate the here and now. So, we wanted to create a fun reminder for the treat that naturally compels us to literally stop what we’re doing and just enjoy the moment.”

“Enjoying Turtles over the holidays is such a storied tradition for many Canadian families,” adds Ashley Edelstein, marketing director at Nestlé Canada. “We wanted to extend this tradition in a fun, loud and light-hearted way with millennials when they’re at a life stage where they’re developing their own traditions.”