Embarrassment First

February 4th, 2010

Fitness First, a gym in Amsterdam, had the amusing (if a bit mean-spirited) idea to shame people into working out by publicly revealing their weight. They hooked up an ad on the side of a bus shelter to the bench inside so that whenever anyone sat down while waiting for the bus, their weight was displayed in huge numbers on the ad like the readout on a bathroom scale.

I’m not sure if the commute is the best time to remind people they’re fat - even the accompanying video shows people recoiling from the seat in horror after they’ve figured out what the numbers on the ad mean. Plus, working out isn’t an instant fix for weight loss, so even if these people did join the gym, they would still face embarrassment on the seat-scale for weeks. I bet it at least inspired a few people to walk instead of taking the bus, though.

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God Hates Your Billboard

January 28th, 2010

Gran Pantalla put together an amusing display to demonstrate the reach of its billboard advertising on a major highway in Madrid. For seven days, drivers everywhere in the city could not help but notice the giant message proclaiming “God Does Not Exist.” On the seventh day, however, God noticed the billboard, had a temper tantrum, and burnt it to a crisp! With the help of the billboard’s creators, of course, who climbed up in the middle of the night to alter the poster.

Despite the number of overly sensitive religious people who might be offended during the first few days the ad is up, I think the company redeems itself in even their eyes when the payoff comes on day 7. Meanwhile, the rest of us have been laughing all along…

[via IBelieveinAdvertising]

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Seduction by Bus

January 21st, 2010

The Niteliner is a late-night bus operated by Connexxion that provides a cheap, warm, and safe way for partying teenagers to get home after the bars and clubs close. In order to promote it among this age group, agents slipped fake “seductive” notes into the pockets and purses of bar- and clubgoers (imagine the ad guy trying to explain what his hand was doing in your bag if you caught him!) that, on closer inspection, turned out to be bus schedules.

The front side of the note, in a handwritten style, coyly intimated that the writer “wanted to show you that winter nights don’t always have to be this cold.” The note then suggested the recipient meet them at - here readers had to turn over the page - the bus stop, with times and locations and a cheery reminder to ride the Niteliner. I’m sure some people were crushed to find their secret admirer was a bus - I know I would be!

[via DirectDaily]

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Alfa Romeo in a Shopping Cart

January 18th, 2010

For an amusing and attention-getting publicity stunt, the makers of the Alfa Romeo positioned cars in shopping carts inside busy retail centers in Belgium. The eye-catching display was meant to suggest how easy it was to buy the car at the massively reduced prices the company was offering. The absurdity of a massive car sticking out of a tiny shopping cart was guaranteed to generate a few laughs, and plenty of people came closer to read the copy on the promotional materials, which gave the website address of the company and hinted at rock-bottom prices to be found online.

[via IBelieveinAdvertising]

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Beauty Secrets of Crosswalks

January 7th, 2010

This humorous promotion for Altschul Orthodontics suggests that this crosswalk owes its straightness to the wonders of modern dentistry, showing a “before” picture similar to the crooked teeth depicted in advertisements for braces. I’m sure many cyclists and motorists would agree that OK - painted lines are great - but let’s see them straighten the road…

[via IBelieveinAdvertising]

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Beware of Lack of Dog

December 18th, 2009

“Beware of Dog” signs are common security measures, often used even in the absence of a real dog to deter burglars and trespassers on private real estate. The SPCA wanted to remind people that dogs are ideal for home safety as well as excellent pets, and deployed this poster campaign in an attempt to raise shelter adoption rates.

Comical “warning” signs telling homeowners to beware of kitchen utensils, sandals, and cleaning products reminded them that nothing could protect their homes as well as a guard dog, while the humor used to deliver the message was non-threatening enough that homeowners would not feel negatively toward the SPCA for suggesting that their homes were “missing” something.

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Bowling Ball Surprise

December 17th, 2009

Elmex, makers of anti-cavity toothpaste (and bus tickets!), wanted to reach its target audience through a new, unconventional advertising route. Bus tickets are well known for having holes, sure, but what else could they compare to a cavity-plagued tooth without completely grossing out their prospects?

Enter the bowling ball. Israel’s largest bowling alley chain has branches in all the country’s major cities, and bowling is a hugely popular sport there. To grab the attention of bowlers, Elmex added 140 “rigged” balls to the mix: instead of the traditional three holes, these balls had three circular stickers made to look like holes, with dentist-friendly ad copy inside reading “Helps prevent cavities” accompanied by a picture of an Elmex tube. Bowlers couldn’t help but notice and laugh at the unique promotion, and the campaign is still going strong one year later.

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The Unquiet Shave

December 11th, 2009

We’ve seen something similar to this guerrilla marketing campaign in Australia, where billboards all over Sydney received promotional vampire-bite-mark stickers to publicize the popular book series Twilight. In New York, Gillette used the poster-perfect faces of male models as its advertising canvas, “decorating” their bare jawlines with bloody tissues so it appeared that they had cut themselves shaving. To ensure the staying power of the ads, the razor company made sure to obtain permission from the other advertisers–retail stores, apparel brands, television channels–and even managed to reduce their own costs through savvy marketing agreements - a funny and smart promotion all around.

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Recipe for Disaster

December 8th, 2009

Forma Total Gym wanted to let everyone know that by joining and working on their physical fitness, they could shape their bodies into something attractive. This poster was probably not the right way to go about sending that message. The “skin” section is made of modeling clay, hypothetically allowing enterprising would-be bodybuilders to draw in a six-pack or some sort of abdominal definition. Anyone familiar with, for example, office supply stores where pens and paper pads are left out is familiar with what actually happens when passersby are encouraged to alter a display. Even if one of the gym employees drew a six-pack on this guy before hanging the ad, it would be erased and covered in obscenities in no time…that is, unless they put it under glass. And then what would be the point of the clay?

Oh well, at least Forma Total Gym has an extremely high opinion of their fellow man. Keep up the optimism, guys!

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Stealth Crossdressing

December 3rd, 2009

Because of lingering social taboos, it remains difficult to promote a retail website aimed at male cross-dressers through traditional channels. Fortunately, guerrilla marketing is not hampered by such matters, and xdress.com devised a clever promotional sticker that could be deployed everywhere public bathrooms are found. Shaped like a skirt, the decal features the site’s URL and nothing more–placed on the “man” on the bathroom door, it says everything it needs to say. Visitors to the bathroom crack a smile even if they aren’t in the market for women’s apparel, and men who are can visit the site when they next browse the web.

The iconic male figure on restroom doors gets a makeover, xdress gets publicity and customers, cross-dressers learn about a convenient and discreet resource for man-sized ladies’ fashions. Everyone wins!

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