Chicago Sky Uses Guerilla Tactics To Stop People In Their Tracks

Chicagoans on their way to work were forced to stop, somewhat abruptly, and notice the WNBA’s Chicago Sky team’s newest advertisement. Sky took to the streets and showed off their defensive skills by taking over a revolving door to a busy downtown office building. Decals of players were placed on the glass, the door was locked, and a hidden camera was installed. Accompanying the stunt was text reading, “Trouble getting through? Now you can sympathize with the other 12 teams in the league.” We love Sky’s bold approach and willingness to get in your way and make you take notice.

Publicity Stunt: "Writer in Residence" at Heathrow International Airport

Writer Alain de Botton spent a week last month at Heathrow International, writing about his experiences, observations and thoughts on the busy airport from a desk in Terminal 5. His words were displayed, real-time as he typed, on a screen behind him. Public relations agency Mischief of London, the brains behind Heathrow's first ever "writer in residence", hoped to inspire branded conversations with the project. de Botton agreed to the idea after a strict "no-edits" policy was settled upon. As Dan Glover, a creative director at Mischief, explained, “If we funded a brochure that said how wonderful the airport was, people would switch off because they’d think they’re being marketed to." 10,000 copies of the final copy of de Botton's writings will be distributed to Heathrow travelers, and will later be available for purchase.

Zipcar Stages Clever Publicity Stunts to Reach City Residents

The car sharing service Zipcar constructed a pedestrian speed trap in New York City, complete with working radar detector, to increase interest in their services. Pedestrians could see their slow pace displayed as they passed, accompanied by signage stating that they could “get there faster in a Zipcar.” Convincing mock speeding ticket flyers were also handed to passersby with promotional discount codes. Zipcar didn’t stop there. They also staged live vacation street scenes on sidewalks to remind city dwellers how easily you could get there using Zipcar. Attention getting scenes like camping and beach spots have been popping up in Washington D.C., New York City and Chicago thanks to Zipcar’s street marketing tactics.

http://www.zipcar.com/

Dutch Magazine uses Guerrilla Video Projection to Stage a Prison Break

In an attempt to direct attention to their special issue on criminals and prison breaks, a Dutch magazine staged an escape. A 3D video projection of a prisoner escaping through a window was cast onto the wall of the famous Bijlmerbajes prison. The illusioned inmate scaled down the building on a bed sheet rope so realistically that the guards sounded the alarms! A viral video of the staged break also caught much attention, as realistic guerrilla projections are becoming increasingly popular.

See the video here.

http://www.revu.nl/

The Salvation Army's "This Ad Cost Nothing" Guerrilla Campaign

With the help of over 50 local businesses, Portland, ME-based VIA Agency created a guerrilla campaign for The Salvation Army that cost close to nothing. Teams transformed everyday items like pizza boxes, coffee cups and dirty cars into ad space. Each ad contained the The Salvation Army's logo, URL, and slogans like "The less we spend advertising, the more people we can reach." The three-week campaign was a creative and socially responsible way to reach New Englanders and show that the The Salvation Army truly is "Doing the most good with your donations."

salvationarmydonate.org

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Mentos: Giving the People the Publicity Stunt They Want

Mentos went guerrilla for the Canadian release of their new gum. 12,000 people participated in a contest that invited those interested to submit ideas on how to "make the world go rounder," with the grand prize being $5,000 and the execution of their idea. As part of the campaign's promotion, the brand let thousands of jumping balls loose in Canadian cities and filmed city-goers reactions and interactions with the balls. Winners will be announced shortly.

http://www.makeyourworldgorounder.ca/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHIN4PCLBJ8

Mannequin Marketing

In an effort to put pressure on the New York City Council, interest group Privy Council called on Saatchi & Saatchi to draw attention to the need for more public restroom facilities. A clever (and shameless) way to attract eyes, these mannequins were placed in plain sight around the city. The mannequin backs directed passers-by to the Privy Council website, and encouraged those interested to contact city reps to voice the need for a new network of public restrooms.

Nike Goes Guerrilla for World Car-Free Day

Nike joined earth-conscious citizens in celebrating World Car-Free Day, an annual event dedicated to reducing dependence on automobiles by using alternative forms of transportation. Nike took part in the fun in Prague by placing paper “boots” on hundreds of cars throughout the city. The “boots” were a creative and cost-effective way for Nike to encourage consumers to run rather than drive, and the campaign received worldwide recognition.


View a video of the program here.

'Feel the Bubbles' with Nestle and Burnquist

Nestlé teamed up with skateboarding legend Bob Burnquist and skate filmmaker Ty Evans to promote their bubbly Aero chocolate candy. Armed with dozens of cameras, the crew created a skate park full of thousands of chocolate-colored balloons, and sent Burnquist skating through them. The Aero “Feel the Bubbles” campaign was viral success, with thousands of people viewing the ad online.

View the video here.

Global Warming Awareness: A Guerrilla Approach

As part of an awareness campaign for MTV Switch, cleverly designed flotation devices were dropped into Amsterdam canals. The realistic looking signs got many double-takes, as it appeared the individuals holding these signs were treading water (or drowning) below the waterline. The signs were simple (each one included a short question and a website address), inexpensive and effectively communicated the topics the show planned to address on-air.