30.5.10

Flashmob






In March 2006, Bill Wasik, inventor of the Flash Mob, wrote a great report on how he created and grew the flashmob phenomenon - Harper's Magazine (March 2006 issue.)

He talks about how events moved from the original email he sent out ('Q: Why would I want to join an inexplicable mob? A: Tons of other people are doing it') through to discussing the MOBs at the New York shoe store, the Grand Hyatt next to Central Station and the dinosaur worshipping in Times Square Toys R Us. Bill discusses how the phenomenon grew and analyses the different stages of awareness, participation and media coverage.

Bill Wasik ran 8 MOBs and reasoned that the Flash mob craze would die out, thinking that 'co-optation of the flash mob by the nation's large conglomerates would, I reasoned, be its final (and fatal) phase.' This moment seemed to have come when in summer 2005 the "Fusion Flash Concerts" were announced, a 'series of flash mobbing events staged by the Ford Motor Company and Sony Pictures Digital to promote the launch of the new Ford Fusion car.'

However, this did not mark the end of flash mob gatherings. If anything 2009 has been the year of the flash mob - albeit slightly removed from the purity of the original mobs. The MOBs of 2009 have tended to be ad funded and corporately organised displays intended to surprise those who were not in the know, rather than random spontaneous assembly for no obvious purpose.

T-mobile were largely responsible for the re-birth of flash mobbing with a TV ad (subsequently uploaded to YouTube) filmed in Liverpool St station in London - now with over 15m YouTube views:





Popout






In March a Belgian TV channel then created a mass performance of 'Do-Re-Mi' in the Central Station in Antwerp:





Popout


In April Trident Unwrapped used 100 Beyonce lookalikes in Piccadilly Circus London:

Popout






Michael Jackson's death sparked global 'flash mob' performances of his dance routines - the highlight (probably) being this performance in Stockholm:





Popout






In September 2009, to launch the new Oprah season, Oprah hosted a Black Eyed Peas outdoor concert in Chicago - where to her surprise the crowd turned into a huge flash mob:





Popout


In October 2009 HTC ran a flash mob at Raffles Place in Singapore:

Popout






In October the Bondi Beach 'Say Cheese' performance became Australia's most significant contribution to the flash mob craze (a stunt to promote Flip):





Popout






Earlier this month Elf Yourself ran a flash mob in Union Square in New York to promote the fact that Elf Yourself is back for 2009:





Popout






3 days ago Janet Jackson appeared at a Janet Jackson flashmob in Los Angeles (a series of MOBs occurred across LA on the same day to promote her new album):





Popout


and Flash mobs are even now happening inside retail stores!





In October TV2 in Sweden ran a MOB in a Swedish IKEA store to promote the new series of 'Skal vi danse' ('Shall We Dance'):





Popout


and now we have Microsoft store staff dancing to the Black Eyed Peas too:

Popout





So why didn't mobs die when Bill Wasik predicted they would? The above are only a few of the mobs from this year, so why has 2009 seen so many? I think there are two main reasons:





1) Joy. It doesn't matter how many times this is done, being near or part of a flash mob / spontaneous outburst of performance raises a smile. With so many economic issues in the world this year, bringing happiness to people (no matter how tenuous the link) creates a positive feeling - a good context for an advertiser message.





2) Social. A flash mob creates Conversation. Those people who are present tweet about it, update their Facebook, take videos and upload to YouTube. Some of these films (or associated UGC versions) have huge, huge view numbers. Often the most effective way of creating buzz in online communities and social networks is to do something in the real world that then prompts people to share it in their virtual ones. Being part of an event gives participants something to talk about and the act of sharing with friends increases buzz and awareness (invariably it will prompt them to search out the info for themelves.)





Conversation (talking about the event) drives people to The Destination (the relevant video, channel, Facebook page etc). If the content is good, these visitors will then share it with their friends, who then talk about it, prompting even more people to visit the Destination. Thus an event can be far more cost-effective at driving coverage than a traditional campaign. (Not forgetting that it also instills joy and positive feeling into the message too.)





In 2003 Bill Wasik was surprised to see his MOB events featuring on blogs who were syndicating the email instrutions - but he did not object. He 'did not want anyone to learn the mob details without making human contact with another mob member, but blogs are by their nature such intimate endeavours that even the most widely read among them seem to foster a sense of close connectedness among their readers.' 'A mob spread partly by blogs was still, as I had intended, a virtual community made physical.'





MOB founder Bill was forward thinking, but in his mind it was all about email / blogs / WOM etc pushing people to the event. In today's media model it's the other way round. Advertisers are creating events to push UGC coverage, a physical community made virtual . The event drives the Conversation, rather than the other way round as Bill intended.

'Social media' doesn't happen in isolation, Conversation needs to be driven and then end up somewhere - and if the Destination is strong enough it will fuel further Conversation and keep looping and growing.







Nokia Snake in Bogotà


Flashmob action by Coke









Surprise Wedding Reception
we picked a random couple getting married at the City Clerk’s Office in Manhattan and threw them a surprise wedding reception. The couple was treated to dancing, toasts, cake, and gifts, all with complete strangers.


Hammer Pants Dance















Beyonce 100 Single Ladies Flash-Dance

Piccadilly Circus, London for Trident Unwrapped





I Gotta Feeling - Lipdub - One Take Music Video in University Of Quebec




FLASHMOB.CL - Aprendiendo a volar
Agencia El Traductor de Donald Paseo Ahumada Chile

Untitled from ortegaxpriest on Vimeo.




The Condo mob














Greenpeace shock Zurich

Activists from Greenpeace and the alliance "No to nuclear" , as part of a campaign against the use of nuclear energy, produced on May 25 last flash mob who knows some success, especially on the Internet .Flash mob in question uses the lever action shocking, and not surprisingly, the video displays 370,000 views in six days. 



Utah Department of Public Safety| Motorcycle Safety Campaign



Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Bumps
Bikers make lousy speed bumps.
Drive aware.



Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Heads
Headlights can be replaced.
Heads can't.
Ride aware.



Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Bones
Cars have bumpers.
Bikers have bones.
Ride aware.





Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Bug
To cars and trucks you're the bug.
Ride aware.





Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Wind
Wind feels great in your face.
Bumpers, less so.
Ride aware.







Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Not crazy
It's "born to be wild", not crazy.
Ride aware.


Utah Department of Public Safety: Motorcycle Safety Campaign, Road rash
Road rash is a preventable disease.  
Ride aware.

Advertising Agency: Richter7, Salt Lake City, USA
Executive Creative Director: Dave Newbold
Creative Directors: Gary Sume, Ryan Anderson
Art Director: Ryan Anderson
Copywriter: Gary Sume
Published: May 2010

The Philippine Consulate Dubai | Disaster


The Philippine Consulate Dubai | Disaster
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai
Executive Creative Director: 
Marc Lineveldt
Copywriter: 
Neil Harrison
Advertiser's Supervisor: 
Robert Ramos
Account Manager: 
Hema Patel
Account Supervisor: 
Lisa-Marie Anders
Art Director: 
Hussain Moloobhoy
Photographer: 
Ziad Oakes, Hussain Moloobhoy

Huggies Jeans Diapers|"Hit the Streets!"

By| JWT New York




29.5.10

Jim Beam| Guys never change. Neither do we.

Jim Beam, founded in 1795, is currently the best selling brand of bourbon in the world,Jim Beam is positioned as the bourbon whiskey for real men. Of course the “real men” stereotype involves interaction with the opposite sex, at a shallow level

THE IDEA
GUYS NEVER CHANGE. And one thing that never changes is that guys have been debating meaning-
less crap since 1795. We love to get together, argue our opinion on any topic, and one-up each other. And we do this best when we’re drinking Jim Beam together.
Lets own this behavior. Brand it. Instigate it. Celebrate it.

Puppies

Jim Beam guys know that the cute factor is worth investing in, just to get the attention of women.


Girls

Jim Beam guys stop what they’re doing when they notice a good looking woman passing by, together.









Advertising Agency: Energy BBDO, Chicago, USA
Art director: Tod Hoffmann
Copywriter: Al Wyatt
Photographer: Tony D'Orio
Filming was shot by director Zach Martin via BOB Industries, Los Angeles. Editor was Matthew Wood at The Whitehouse Post. Post production was done at Filmworkers Club, Chicago. Music and audio were produced atEarhole Studios, Chicago.
========

Guys never change. That’s the message in this billboard advertising campaign for Jim Beambourbon from Chicago, which won a bronze at the 2010 Clio Awards. Guys never ask for directions. Take Christopher Columbus for example. Guys never change. And neither does Jim Beam. See our earlier story on the TV advertising campaign.
Jim Beam Guys Never Change


Jim Beam Guys Never Change
Jim Beam Guys Never Change
Jim Beam Guys Never Change
Jim Beam Guys Never Change

28.5.10

Kaiak| scented banners


Scented-banners

Everyone loves a cool ad execution, but some are clearly advertising for advertising people. This is particularly true during award-show season. The video below, getting some passalong among the adverpeople of Twitter, shows a Brazilian campaign by ID/TBWA for a fragrance brand Kaiak. Kaiak came up with a reformulated scent for its cologne, but it's only sold door to door. (I had no idea that door-to-door sales were still popular in Brazil.) How to sell it online? The Brazilian shop outfitted computers at 15 Internet cafés with machines that produce scented samples when users click on a banner on the café homepage offering a sniff. Cue the hidden-camera footage showing the shock and delight of the samplers. Kaiak says it got a 17 percent click-through rate and distributed 10,000 strips in a weekend. Color me skeptical, but that's a long walk for a small beer. Oh well, you can probably expect it to take home a bunch of Lions next month in Cannes. 




Challenge“Kaiak” is the best-selling men’s fragrance in Brazil. Working-class men are its target market. It is sold door-to-door exclusively. The client wanted to make an online campaign to announce that the product had changed — but not much more than that. We couldn’t show the new fragrance on the internet … Unless we could find a way to put the scent on the banner! And that is what we did!
SolutionFirst we made an agreement with more than 15 Internet cafés, which are used mostly by young working men who do not have computers in their homes. Then we created a plug-in that inserted the banner on the Internet cafés’ internet start page. The banner read “The best selling men’s fragrance in the country just changed. Want to try it? Click this banner. It’s scented.” After the click the banner went out of the computer screen at the same time a custom hardware developed by us, ejected a paper version of the banner with the scent sample.
Results
The scented banner had a click-through rate of 17.2% — That is 43 times higher than the global average. 10,000 scented banners were distributed in just one weekend.

Advertising Agency: ID\TBWA, São Paulo, Brazil
Concept: Domenico Massareto
Creative Director: Domenico Massareto
Planner: Igor Puga
Production: Natalia
Gouvea
On Air: May 2010

7 Skills for a Post-Pandemic Marketer

The impact of Covid-19 has had a significant impact across the board with the marketing and advertising industry in 2020, but there is hope...