Dry January
Campaign / Content
2026
Making Dry January Genuinely Tempting
Everyone’s heard of Dry January. Fewer people know it’s actually a legit, trademarked thing – and even fewer use the app designed specifically to support them through it.
So, the goal was to get people to download Try Dry for Dry Jan®. But to make a (free) app feel worth the download, we had to go beyond what people were giving up, and focus instead on what they stood to gain. The result was kitschy, colourful and fabulously punny. A creative world that made progress feel joyful, and the app feel like part of the fun rather than another obligation.
Concept, Art Direction, Creative Direction
We started by digging into why people actually do Dry January® in the first place – better sleep, more money, clearer heads, a sense of achievement. Then we mapped those motivators directly onto the app’s features: streak tracking, savings calculators, unit logging, progress milestones. Every asset turned one of these gains into a little inside joke, with sobriety puns galore.
If we were going to talk about gains, the visuals had to feel abundant. So I art directed a bright, kitsch, slightly surreal world where every execution framed going dry as indulgent, playful or powerful.
Styling, set design and art direction had to work hard to blend that kitschy humour with the real world. We wanted aspirational but attainable – making it fun without losing the tangible benefits of drinking less. Cue a glorious spread of brightly coloured pyjamas, scrunchies and yoga mats in minimal but colourful studio sets.
Less booze. More of everything else.
