SMUGGLER Introduces 'The CoCo' for Thompson Reuters and StrawberryFrog
Thomson Reuters has introduced the world to The CoCo — the star of a new campaign for CoCounsel, and quite possibly the most self-assured colleague you'll ever meet.
The CoCo is the genius of CoCounsel, personified. She's the keeper of more than 175 years of Thomson Reuters knowledge, set in an infinite library where she knows every volume, every page, every data point and reference, and can pull any of it in an instant. Go ahead and test her. And because The CoCo can't help but be The CoCo, she'll let you know it — with a bit more sass and snap than you'd expect from someone who lists professional AI platform on her business card.
She's brought to life by comedic actor Beth Dover, and she's about to be hard to miss. The CoCo arrives in a fully integrated campaign with creative by StrawberryFrog, spanning TV, social, streaming radio, out-of-home and trade events, rolling out across Thomson Reuters’ core professional markets. It's the most ambitious brand campaign Thomson Reuters has mounted in more than a decade.
Most technology gets explained. We wanted CoCounsel to be felt. Professional audiences have heard every AI promise by now, and most of it sounds the same. A feature list doesn't cut through that. A personality does. The CoCo is how people meet CoCounsel — not through a spec sheet, but through presence, authority and the kind of confidence that only comes from actually knowing the answer. She's memorable on purpose, because the point we're making deserves to be remembered.
The category has spent a lot of time talking about what AI might do someday. The CoCo is here to talk about what CoCounsel already does, for the professionals who can't afford to be wrong.
The CoCo has attitude. What sits behind her does not.
Thomson Reuters is a technology company with the authoritative content and CoCounsel is the clearest evidence of that shift. Built on verified data, genuine reasoning and the professional expertise that only Thomson Reuters can provide, CoCounsel has become the backbone of how professionals across legal, tax and risk think, decide and deliver. This campaign exists to make that unmistakable.
“We've spent 175 years earning the trust of professionals when the stakes are highest. CoCounsel is the next chapter of that story. The CoCo helps us tell it in a bold, memorable way, but the message is simple: when you have to be right, trust matters. No one is better positioned to deliver that than Thomson Reuters,” said Amy Messano, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Thomson Reuters.
“A product that defies expectations deserves a campaign that defies expectations,” said Tyler DeAngelo, Chief Creative Officer, StrawberryFrog. “And when it comes to B2B advertising and creating campaigns for highly regulated industries or complex products, the first answer everyone defaults to is simplicity. But what if the answer to complexity is not simplicity, but a deeper level of engagement? Instead turning complexity into a world our audience can step into.”
CREDITS
Client: Thomson Reuters Corporation, Toronto
Chief Executive Officer: Steve Hasker
Chief Marketing Officer: Amy Messano
VP of Brand: Jennifer N. Perez
Director, Brand & Marketing Strategy: Stacey Mark
Sr. Brand & Marketing Manager: Lindsey Bezdichek
Agency: StrawberryFrog, New York
Chief Executive Officer: Steve Scutellaro
Chief Creative Officer: Tyler DeAngelo
Creative team: Nigel Gross, Spencer Campbell, Jeff Kling, Ben Palmer, Erin Dewey Lennox
EP, Producer: Steve Ford
Business Affairs: Venessa Merrin, Nikita Merrin
Head of Strategy: RG Logan
Head of Media, Channel Planning, Analytics: Bill Heilmann
Senior Business Director: Ashley Wenk
VP, Delivery & Product Management: Liz Scordato
Production Company: Smuggler, Los Angeles
Director: Randy Krallman
Co-Founders: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody
Managing Director: Sue Yeon Ahn
Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colón
Head of Production: Brian Sabowski
Producer: Ian Blain
Production Supervisor: Chris Lane
Commercial Coordinator: Drew Palmer
1st AD: Jermaine Sumra
Director of Photography: Todd Martin
Production Designer: Pete Zumba
Casting Directors: Ed Flores, Elevator Casting, Los Angeles,Beth Melsky, Beth Melsky Casting, New YorkJess Lyons, O’Connor Casting Company, Chicago
Costumer / Stylist: Choo Choo Kim
Hair & Makeup Artist: Tina Murgas
Wardrobe Designer: John Kristiansen
Editorial Company: Friendshop!, New York
Editor/Co-Founder: Ben Suenaga
Assistant Editor: Devante Marshall
Editor: Joe Kriksciun
Assistant Editors: Kayla Loughran, Micah Chase
After Effects: Friendshop!, New York
Sr. Producer: Adam Roe
MD/Co-Founder: Melissa Mapes
Visual Effects Company: Parliament, New York
Creative Lead: Phil Crowe
Executive Producer: Enca Kaul
Producers: Emma Hertz, Anna Vegezzi
VFX Supervisor: James Mullholland
Audio Post: Sonic Union NYC
Audio Engineer: [6] Rob Iver
Color: Royal Muster, New York
Colorist: Roslyn Di Sisto
Color Assists: Celene Curlee, Abby Dougherty
Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson
Head of Production/Producer: Diane Valera
Associate Producer: Esli Israel
