Key Dates
Image Credit : Traffic Brand Agency - Australia
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Project Overview
Sealy is set to launch a new premium mattress range for the vital middle market segment—an evolution of its flagship Sealy Posturepedic® Elevate line, Australia’s top-selling range by volume. Launching August 2024, the new collection will showcase breakthrough coil technology and requires bold, premium creative to drive retailer advocacy and consumer desire. As a cornerstone of Sealy’s national distribution strategy, this campaign must elevate perception and demand at every touchpoint.
Team
Traffic Andrew Begg - Creative Director Sarah Jane Wilson Begg - General Manager Credits: Client: Sealy Australia Wade Ganzer - National Sales and Marketing Ben Whittaker - Product Manager Jess Conradi - Retail Support Manager Production (Photography & Film/TVC) Production Company: Louis & Co Producer: Louis Molines Photographer: Ian Butterworth Videography & Offline Editor: Tim Kindler, Dualism Sound Designer: Dave Robertson, Heckler Sound Sound Producer: Bonnie Law, Heckler Sound Composer: Roo Walker
Project Brief
To launch Sealy Posturepedic’s most advanced range yet, we knew we couldn’t just tell a story — we had to show it in a way that consumers could feel. Our challenge was to create a distinctive visual world that made breakthrough sleep innovation emotionally resonant, intuitively premium, and instantly desirable, without relying on a single word of copy.
Anchored in the proven communication arc of Problem, Solution, Demonstration, Benefit, we crafted a rich, sensory-driven campaign that fused technological credibility with lifestyle aspiration. Through high-art photography and cinematic video sequences, we reimagined the mattress as an object of sculptural beauty — a symbol of alignment, balance, and life-enhancing sleep. The hero visual treatments dramatise Sealy’s USP — SAAM (Sealy Alignment Assurance Module) — with refined detail, precision movement, and serene emotional tone.
Every frame was designed with flexibility in mind: versatile for print, digital, and large-format outdoor, while seamlessly adaptable across POS environments. Clean compositions allowed space for logo lockups and tailored retailer branding, ensuring the campaign was both premium and practical. From brochures to billboards, portrait reels to landscape stills, the story remained cohesive, elevating Sealy Posturepedic beyond a product, into a lifestyle aligned with success, wellbeing, and modern luxury.
This campaign didn’t just reflect innovation — it made it aspirational.
Project Innovation/Need
Traffic was entrusted with developing every aspect of the Acclaim brand, from crafting the brand strategy, positioning, and naming to designing the identity and collateral for the new mattress range.
Built on the foundation of “Comfort fused with technology,” the Acclaim brand highlights Sealy’s commitment to industry-leading research and development. By integrating advanced sleep support features—including Sealy’s patented Coil System, cutting-edge technology, and the finest materials—the mattress truly delivers on its promise: “Innovation never felt so good.”
Traffic worked closely with Sealy to develop a compelling brand story, introducing the Acclaim name and its positioning line, “Innovation never felt so good.” To visually showcase the technology behind the brand, Traffic collaborated with CGI artists to create detailed representations of key sleep system innovations, including React Support, Coil Comfort, Core Materials, Duraflex Base, and Flex Cased systems. These visuals, along with animations, became integral to the brand’s marketing activation.
Design Challenge
This project was a high-stakes brand transformation — replacing Sealy Elevate, Australia’s best-selling mattress range, with a completely new brand that could meet rising consumer expectations and compete with fast-moving US disruptors.
The challenge wasn’t just naming or design — it was developing a full-scale brand ecosystem that fused innovation with emotional appeal. From strategy and positioning to identity and retail collateral, Acclaim had to clearly communicate Sealy’s leadership in sleep technology while feeling warm, premium, and human.
One of the biggest design hurdles: visualising what can’t be seen — the advanced inner workings of a mattress. We solved this through high-end CGI, creating striking, detailed representations of Sealy’s patented technologies, including React® Support, FlexCase™, Duraflex™, and CoreSupport systems. These visuals made complex innovations instantly understandable, elevating Acclaim’s positioning: Innovation never felt so good.
To bring emotional resonance and global appeal to the campaign, Traffic cast American Ford Model Jaelynn Hinton as the hero talent — a striking embodiment of the brand’s modern, aspirational tone.
Timing and integration were key. With competitors gaining ground, the rollout had to be swift and seamless across multiple retailers. We worked closely with Sealy to align every touchpoint — POS, digital, packaging, and advertising — around a cohesive visual and narrative system.
The result was more than a rebrand — it was a confident step forward into a new era of premium sleep innovation, backed by storytelling, strategy, and standout design.
Effectiveness
The launch of Sealy Posturepedic Acclaim was met with overwhelming acclaim from Sealy Australia, their national and international retail partners, and consumers alike. From the moment it hit the market, the brand stood out for its visual impact, storytelling clarity, and premium appeal.
Retailers praised the campaign’s ability to elevate perceived value, with many reporting that customers believed the mattress was significantly more expensive than its actual price point. Even Sealy’s own manufacturing team commented that the branding made the product look “so luxurious, it surprised people how affordable it was.”
The campaign resonated so strongly across the board that Sealy requested the concept be adapted into a full-scale television commercial — now on air nationally — marking the first time in years that a new Sealy range has received this level of above-the-line investment. It’s a testament to the confidence and excitement the campaign generated internally and externally.
The brand system provided retailers with consistent, high-quality tools that worked seamlessly across digital and in-store environments — from large-format displays and brochures to CGI-enhanced animations.
Internally, the campaign is regarded as Sealy’s most successful new product launch in recent memory. It not only revitalised the core Posturepedic offer but also set a new benchmark for how product innovation and brand storytelling can powerfully align.
Most importantly, it connected, transforming complex technology into a tangible, emotionally resonant consumer experience.
Advertising - Outdoor, Retail, POS
This award celebrates creative and innovative design for visual communication including traditional and digital signage intended to persuade an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas or services. Consideration given to the technical, conceptual and aesthetic elements, audience engagement and message delivery.
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