Branding / Advertising / Design
Apple owned the MP3 player. The iPod Nano was the device of polite design and quiet status. SanDisk's Sansa e200 needed an alternative for the people who wanted nothing to do with any of that.
Lil' Monsta was that alternative. A scribbled, hand-drawn creature built to personify the device, rebellious, ravenous, and unmistakably not for everyone. Every product feature became a personality trait. The expandable belly was a microSD slot. The hyper streak was the extra battery life. The tough hide was the scratch-resistant case. Each trait gave the character a new headline and a new ad: "Feed Me!" "Hyper Lil' Monsta." "Tough Lil' Monsta." "Liberated Lil' Monsta."
The campaign ran across print, outdoor posters, wild postings, postcards, packaging, in-store signage, and an interactive website where the character lived on. Loud, anti-corporate, and the opposite of where the category was going. That was the point.