Technology+Culture+People // テクノロジーとか、人とか、文化とか。

Client is Eichborn, and their logo is a fly. What a stunning campaign.

»English Article (via: AdFreak) || »日本語の記事 (via: Ad Innovator)

Very creative.

Ok, lets put aside the discussion of whether this is all staged or not, because that is not important. So, the real question: are these “on-the-spot guerrilla campaigns” actually effective or not? Under the assumption that they are implemented correctly, let’s think of the pros and cons:

Pros: it “involves” the people on the spot, and therefore leaves a very strong impact and perhaps the correct and effective brand message.
Cons: only the people who are on the spot can experience it, and therefore the majority of the people in the world will be absolutely oblivious to the event.

I personally think that just doing the event is not enough. If lucky enough people will post photos and videos on places like YouTube, and people like me with enough time on their hands will write a blog article about it. However, one cannot simply expect that to happen. There has to be a well structured communication that involves several different media that ensures the spread of the message. For example:

Each media has different functions, and therefore needs a different method in delivering the necessary message. One must first be aware of the mission of the campaign (like “spreading a buzz,” causing awareness, improving sales, gain more market share, etc), who to target, and what message to send, and the type of media to send such message. Verison did seem to follow up the guerrilla campaign by the following TVCM, which is funny, but alas not as funny or fascinating as the event itself.

Something about guerrilla campaign and guerrilla theatre really fascinates me. It must be the involvement and the “raw” reactions of the audiences. When things happen on the spot it’s not about “you” and “them.” You become a part of them. That’s what makes it so POWERFUL. I love it.