“Ahahahahaha” was the word I had when I saw this ad. A peculiar way of advertising where the usage of irrelevant yet amusing medium comes to play. What we are seeing here is a promotion for a show and train ticket offering coming from travel agency, Voyages-sncf.com. Through TBWA\Paris, they launch this weird and engaging campaign. I really love the upskirt and bus stop ads. Check them out.
Ink it mommy!
Here’s something that is not your conventional promotions for the moms out there. As creatives, we are trained to ‘think different’ but also to learn to follow the brief and deliver results based on strategy. A lot of times we are limited to the likes of our target audiences and as we get so used to these creative and strategic restrictions, we tend to propose ideas that are not too ground breaking. While I must say breaking away too much can also lead to quite a drastic result. Advertising agency Manga, Sao Paulo, Brazil decides to give mom a special gift. They didn’t want the usual mundane gifts for moms. So they proposed something that is eternal. They wanted to gift moms with tattoos! A project by PUMA, for creating an eternal gift by getting yourself a tattoo as long as you chalk up to 250 dollars in the PUMA shop. This has to be one of the most bizarre yet daring campaigns I have seen so far for this year. It takes a lot of convincing to get a client to actually approve this bold campaign. I highly doubt anyone would shop and impulsively get their body tattooed. But I do pretty much respect the verve and passion of the agency to push this idea through and actually got it sold. Still, respects to the creative team.
MINI Roller Coaster
Having the ride of your time on a roller coaster is something most people have embedded in their lifetime memories. The thrill of the ride and the adrenaline rush is unforgettable. Well, the MINI wants to give you the exact feeling. But this time, we are riding on their MINIs. A rather smart and bold idea to have people sitting on top of the cars with seats that resembles the roller coasters. We see a row of MINIs dashing across the streets, making turns at the roundabouts as well as parading in the city before it comes to a halt at the traffic light. Then there were curious faces from the passerby and the screaming expressions of the passengers. Pretty awesome idea. A nice way to put more attention on the brand.
The fan detector
Most often of not, it is not easy to have the immediate amount of engagement or the mechanism to trigger your consumer for an action. But, there are a lot of ways we can achieve so depending on the kind of promotion or the product that we are selling. In this case, music being an integral part of our lives is a good boost to trigger music fans for an action. Billboard Magazine wants to reward real music fans. They created a magazine dispenser machine that would instantly reward you with a free magazine. All you need to do is to prove that you are a fan of the artist on the cover of the magazine. How do you prove your devotion then? All you really need to do is to plug your phone to the machine. You don’t even need an app. The machine scans your library and almost instantly decides if you have at least 20 tracks of the artist on your phone. Then you either walk away with a free magazine or empty handed.
Do nothing and get rewarded
No, life is not just about work or money. It can be just as thrilling and amazing at the same time. All you need to do is take a break, hold your breath, look around and admire everything that’s happening around you. Take away all that stress and woes about deadlines, bills and your loans. But if you really cannot do it, I’m sure a can of beer will help you out. Amstel Pause will make sure you succeed in doing so. All you really need to do is to take a short break and don’t do anything at all for 3 minutes in front of the machine and you shall be rewarded a free ice cold beer! Nothing beats doing nothing to get something isn’t it? Now, this is life without work and money. I have to admit, beer installations are starting to get pretty interesting these days.
Fly like a bird
Everyone loves a little magic. Somehow it brings out a little bit of that childhood in them. I still remember the stunts that David Copperfield once did to the Statue of Liberty, the way David Blaine would fool his audience with his tricks and how Criss Angel would actually float across the sky. That said, let’s imagine mixing that kind of stunt with marketing, the results could be overwhelming. Pepsi had recently collaborated with English magician, Dynamo for a public stunt where he would levitate alongside a bus. While doing so, he took live footage from his mobile and that garnered the attention of the public. I must say I am not so much impress by this marketing stunt but it is undoubtedly an effective effort after all. The current youtube views is already at 3 million and going up. There are some debates and conversations over how the stunt was done. Whether or not if Dynamo really used a mechanical arm to connect himself to the bus, it has definitely gotten the social attention it was intended for. That in my opinion, is probably one of the main objectives met. After all, this marketing stunt does bring about some fun.
Putting up the brave front
As we all know, one of the top causes of death in the world right now is Cancer. It is extremely tormenting and scary. While it is fatal and dreadful, there are some who had survived. I think a good way to show support for cancer is to create more awareness for it. AMV BBDO launched an outdoor guerilla billboard featuring four cancer survivors – Anna, Parminder, Adam and Linda. These four brave souls used their bodies to blend with the background of the billboard. By painting their bodies with paint, they were able to blend with the sign behind them. Thus, allowing commuters at London’s Victoria Station to witness this brave act of expression in an effort to create awareness for the Cancer Research in UK. To fight against cancer, one does not simply depend on will power alone, it is imperative that there is both social and financial support. The headline, “Beat Cancer Sooner” reflects a lot on communicating the message across. I would say props to the four brave souls for shouting out to the public.
Shine that soccer field
A truly brilliant idea by Nike to have soccer fields marked by laser beams and projecting it onto the streets of Spain. I particularly love how Nike is taking the game to the streets. It creates a stronger brand presence. Nike had a specially designed van and crane which would help to project the laser soccer court. And the best thing is, you can send your request for their projection through the use of your smartphones. This is definitely an amazing idea as it not only combines the love of the sport with Nike branding, it is also keeps people entertained.
Zack Chia 