The document provides examples of outrageous tourism marketing campaigns from around the world. Some highlights include:
- T.G.I. Friday's UK campaign that involved staff doing outrageous stunts like posing nearly naked in front of Buckingham Palace to promote a new summer menu.
- A New Orleans campaign after the BP oil spill that said "This isn't the first time New Orleans has survived the British."
- A Cairns, Australia campaign promoting wet t-shirt competitions and getting "high before breakfast" via hot air balloons.
- A French campaign video showing characters like Asterix surviving a blender while others did not, to show the French mix well with others.
- Queensland's "best job in
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1. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
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OUTRAGEOUS
Read more than actually Read...
Double Edition
Sneak Peak
• Outrageous Stunts T.G.I. Friday’s - Jo Bowman
• When Tourism Went Outrageous - Bharadwaj Battaram
• PETA Outrageous - Bharadwaj Battaram
• A Lot More To Outrage - Bharadwaj Battaram
! PAGE 1
2. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
OUTRAGEOUS STUNTS DRIVE T.G.I. FRIDAY'S
Despite being renowned for its energetic waiting are known - took to the streets near Friday's restaurants
staff and party atmosphere, after 17 years in the UK dressed in bikinis or beach shorts and carrying
market, T.G.I. Friday's wanted to liven up its image and sur$oards.
boost sales in the traditionally quiet summer season. The aim was simply to be seen doing something
The restaurant chain had a new summer menu to outrageous. Two staff posed in front of Buckingham
promote, but the challenge for retained agency Palace wearing nothing more than a strategically placed
Companycare Communications was to spark media sur$oard. Staff from Coventry attended the Big Brother
interest in a restaurant that wasn't new, and that had not evictions dressed as chickens, while Leeds staff
received even one restaurant review for its previous challenged members of the public to eat as many tubs of
summer menu. ice cream as possible in a specific timeframe.
Objectives Measurement and Evaluation
To generate positive reviews of the new menu. To Eighteen restaurant reviews followed the campaign,
project an image of the T.G.I. Friday's brand as fun and including those in Take A Break, the Glasgow Evening
irreverent, build brand awareness across regional media, Times, the Birmingham Post, the Cardiff Post, the
and to encourage entries to the website. Ultimately to Reading Evening Post, the South Wales Echo, the
drive more customers to the restaurants. Sunday Mercury, the Daily Record in Scotland, the
Strategy and Plan Northampton Chronicle and the Stockport Express.
The campaign theme 'Outrage Us' arose from a Radio coverage was obtained on large commercial
well-known T.G.I. Friday's dessert that was being stations such as Capital FM and Birmingham's BRMB.
reintroduced to the menu. 'Outrageous', a huge portion Restaurant staff who dressed up in outrageous T-
of ice-cream and chocolate, was seen as a strong symbol shirts, carried a sur$oard and threw giant T.G.I. Friday's
of the chain's basic brand values. beach balls at the Reading music festival were shown on
The campaign kicked off with media relations MTV. Other TV coverage included Friday's staff in loud
targeting regional publications in areas with T.G.I. t-shirts at the men's quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Friday's restaurants. Journalists were sent a lurid Results
Hawaiian shirt with an invitation to try something more The campaign generated a record number of
tasteful at their local T.G.I. Friday's, and follow-up calls reviews for the chain. Most of the journalists ordered
were made to arrange reviews. the dishes they were encouraged to choose, so the new
Competitions were also placed within regional menu items were mentioned in many of the reviews. All
titles. 18 reviewers gave a positive appraisal of their meals, with
Companycare and T.G.I's then worked alongside the Cardiff Post series and the Reading Evening Post
online marketers Blue Barracuda, in association with among those highlighting the new signature dishes.
AOL, to produce an online competition, inviting people After the campaign, four of the new menu items
to say what outrageous things they would do with went straight into the top ten sellers, from a menu of
£1,000. more than 60 items. Across all branches, an average of
The winner of the competition, who won £1,000, 14 per cent of ice-cream tubs handed out were brought
chose to tour the world in a bath of melted chocolate on in for redemption.
wheels being pulled along by six hunky men, although a Overall, covers have risen but T.G.I. Friday's would
popular choice for competition entrants was to pinch not disclose by how much.
Kylie's backside as many times as possible before being Take A Break magazine gave T.G.I. Friday's a 9/10
arrested. The competition certainly sparked the rating. However, while South Wales Daily Echo
imagination of some entrants. Other fantasies ranged commercial features editor Maxine Ashford said she
from the surreal - blocking the Channel Tunnel with a gave the restaurant a positive review, she did not
huge cork to stop the French getting in - to the mention the new menu items as she was not clear which
downright bizarre - dancing in the Queen's bedroom, they were. "I don't know if I had them," she admitted.
naked, while shaving a ferret.
The online competition generated 2,200 entries and
Each store also handed out empty ice-cream tubs in there were 16,000 visitors to that section of the
their local area, inviting people to come into the restaurant's website.
restaurants and have them filled.
The PR team then encouraged and worked with
- Jo Bowman
staff in each branch to generate publicity themselves.
The chain's waiters and waitresses - or 'dub dubs' as they PR Week UK
! PAGE 2
3. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
WHEN TOURISM WENT OUTRAGEOUS
"This isn't the first time New Orleans has survived
the British"
When Obama insisted on referring to BP as
British Petroleum during the recent oil spill crisis, he
was heavily criticised, but he wasn't the only one to
suggest that blame for the disaster lay firmly with us
Brits. Months after the incident, the New Orleans
tourist board tried to lure tourists back to the city
with the slogan "This isn't the first time New Orleans
has survived the British."
The poster's small print noted: "Right now,
everyone is welcome, especially our friends from
England." The reference was to the 1814 Battle of New
Orleans, when General Andrew Jackson fought off a
British assault on the city. Ironically enough, the
advertising had been funded by a £5m grant from the
oil giant itself.
Cairns: "Great up top, fun down under"
The northern Queensland city of Cairns may have
lush rainforests and gorgeous golden beaches to lure
visitors in, but never mind all that. When the tourist
board launched a recent campaign promoting the area,
it focused instead on the city's popular wet t-shirt
competitions, driving the point home with an image of a
scantily dressed blonde woman alongside the slogan
"Cairns: Great up top - fun down under. Weekly wet t-
shirt competitions!"
Another poster in the Up Top Down Under
campaign used the slogan: "Wet yourself in front of your
mates" to promote white water rafting, while an advert
for hot air balloon rides encouraged visitors to "Get
high before breakfast." Despite many people slamming
the posters as crude, tourism officials hailed them as a
success. When the prime time TV talk show host Rove
McManus spent the first 15 minutes of his show ranting
about the "sexist" posters, the campaign went viral,
proving that there's no such thing as bad publicity.
ITS SO MUCH FUN, TRAVELING
A tribute to all those who love travel. And to all those who love to market their city to the
lovers. The beauty and the greatness of a place is meant to be shared.
! PAGE 3
4. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
EX EA COMMODO CONSEQUAT DUIS. UT WISI ENIM AD
"South Carolina is so gay"
Sixty years ago, the slogan "South Carolina is so
gay" might have been seen as innocent praise.
Launched as it was in 2008, however, the implication
that the state was overly homosexual didn't go down
well everywhere. The posters, created to promote the
area to gay travellers, were the brainchild of a
marketing agency, Out Now Consulting,
commissioned by the state's tourism department.
On inspecting the posters, the department
concluded that "the use of public advertising money to
promote a social agenda was inappropriate" and
refused to foot the bill. The Republican senator David
Thomas declared he merely feared that gay travellers
would be left confused, telling Time magazine:
"They'll get off the plane and say, 'Where are the gay
beaches?' and no one will know what they're talking
about."
Eventually, South Carolina Gay Pride offered to
cover the cost of the campaign and the adverts
appeared across America and on the London
underground.
France: "Will it mix?"
Germans might be known for their sunbed-stealing
ways on holiday and the Swiss might be accused of being
blunt. The French, however, have a reputation for
spurning other nationalities, and it was this exclusionary
image that formed the basis for a recent French tourism
campaign in the Netherlands.
As part of the campaign, a two minute long video
depicted a mad scientist-type throwing a selection of
plastic characters into a blender. The UK was
represented by a plastic Harry Potter, America by the A-
Team character BA Baracus, and other nationalities by a
little ET. A plastic Asterix was then added to represent
the French contingent, before the blending began.
The punch line came when the blender was emptied
to reveal... a perfectly intact Asterix, prompting the
presenter to reassure us that despite appearances, the
French really do mix with other nationalities - while
viewers' suspicions were simultaneously confirmed once
and for all.
! PAGE 4
5. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
Queensland's Best Job in the World competition
When the Queensland tourist board needed a
live-in caretaker for a cluster of islands on the Great
Barrier Reef, it scrapped the usual application process
in favour of a competition for "the best job in the
world". Some 34,000 potential candidates uploaded
application videos to a website, many going to
extraordinary lengths to demonstrate their keenness.
One video showed a woman tattooing herself with
the words "I love the Great Barrier Reef "; another
applicant was arrested while filming himself jumping
from Florida's South Causeway Bridge. Hampshire-
born Ben Southall eventually won the job but hit the
headlines for some unexpected reasons during his time
on the island. In his first blog entry, he got the name
of his island home wrong, calling it Hayward Island
instead of Hayman Island - and, days before finishing
his assignment, he almost died after being stung by a
jellyfish.
Undoubtedly, the real winner of the immensely
popular campaign was the Queensland tourist board,
for whom it generated an estimated £45 million of
global publicity.
Switzerland's sexy men
Paris may be the quintessential city of romance but,
according to the Swiss tourist board, people looking for
love should head straight to Switzerland. During the last
World Cup, the Swiss tourist board ran a series of
adverts aimed at so-called World Cup widows - women
who'd in effect lost their sports-fan husbands for the
duration.
The images showed shirtless Swiss men - including
Renzo Blumenthal, aka Mr Switzerland 2005 - partaking
in apparently typically Swiss pursuits such as tossing hay,
milking cows, operating cable cars and chopping wood,
while a voiceover encouraged women to "escape to a
country where men spend less time on football and
more time on you."
Unsurprisingly, the ads proved incredibly popular
with the gay community. "It was never our intention to
promote gay tourism, but we don't say no," said a tourist
board spokesman, Oliver Kerstholt. "The campaign
obviously targets women, but if men are interested too,
then why not?" Take note, South Carolina Department
of Parks, Recreation and Tourism...
! PAGE 5
6. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
Baltimore - "Find your happy place"
With its slogan “Find your happy place” Visit
Baltimore hoped to promote the city by combating
those pervasive recessionary blues. At the launch of
the campaign earlier this year, 250 residents of the
metropolis wearing black and orange ponchos formed
the world's largest smiley face. A butterfly release had
also been planned but was axed when the animal rights
group Peta intervened.
Cynics immediately descended upon the cheery
message. The Baltimore Sun said the tag line sounded
like a "cross between a yoga centre slogan and a
McDonalds advert"; other commentators pointed out
that "Find your trigger-happy place" might have been
more appropriate, given the city's notoriously high
gun-crime rate, fictionalised in edgy TV programmes
such as The Wire. A local police chief, Gary
McLhinney, suggested that "Find your hiding place"
might be better advice for anyone considering visiting
the city.
Australia: "So where the bloody hell are you?"
In 2006, Tourism Australia launched a campaign
depicting Australians preparing to welcome visitors to
their country - pouring cold beers, preparing picnics -
before asking viewers, "So where the bloody hell are
you?" The British Broadcast Advertising Clearance
Centre banned the advert due to the use of the word
"bloody" and the Advertising Standards Authority
demanded billboards bearing the slogan be removed.
Canada also banned the advert, but for slightly more
obscure reasons - the opening scene of a woman
drinking a beer led to the prohibition on the grounds of
"unbranded alcohol consumption". Singapore objected
to the use of the word "bloody", too, but allowed the
campaign to run with the offending adjective removed.
Tony Blair later made light of the furore - claiming
in a keynote speech to the Australian parliament that his
first thoughts upon arriving in the country were "Where
the bloody hell am I?"
! PAGE 6
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"Toronto never smelled so good"
In the summer of 2009, a city-wide strike left
Toronto's rubbish uncollected for 39 days. When the
strike finally came to an end, the city's tourism board
celebrated with a campaign that declared, "Toronto
never smelled so good." A local journalist blogged that
the campaign "reeked of desperation", and Toronto
Sun columnists accused the creators of portraying the
six-week pile-up of uncollected rubbish as a unique
selling point.
Andrew Weir, vice-president of Tourism Toronto,
defended the stunt, explaining that the aim was to
convince people considering visiting the city that "the
experience is as high-quality and exciting as it's ever
been - and now there's no garbage piled up. There's
that added benefit."
"Alaska B4UDIE"
Things to do before you die? Tell friends and family
how much you love them? Write a novel? Skydive?
According to the Alaskan Travel Industry Association, a
visit to their northern state should be right up there
with writing a will. After research showed that a trip to
Alaska was prominent on the list of things Americans
wanted to tick off before meeting their maker, the local
tourism agency created a campaign with the slightly
morbid slogan B4UDIE.
Posters bearing the tag line on a number plate were
displayed across Los Angeles, Seattle and Minneapolis.
Despite the slightly unusual approach, the campaign was
a success and visitor numbers to the state went through
the roof.
! PAGE 7
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"Skegness is so bracing!"
Designed by John Hassall in 1908, the iconic
"Skegness is so bracing" poster was commissioned by
the Great Northern Railway Company to coincide
with a promotion offering passengers the chance to
travel to Skegness for just three shillings from
London's Kings Cross station. How the image of a
windblown cartoon character and promises of
"bracing" temperatures lured people to Skegness is a
mystery but, either way, the campaign was a success
and ran for three years.
Interestingly, Hassall designed the poster - the
country's first example of a tourism campaign - after
his one and only visit to the town, during which he
declared that "the reality of Skegness has eclipsed all
my anticipations. It is even more bracing and
attractive than I had been led to expect." Which
prompts us to suspect he may well have visited the
wrong town, but there you go.
Canada: "It's OK to cheat... on your city"
When the Montreal and Toronto tourist boards
needed inspiration for a new campaign, they decided to
play on the rivalry between two of Canada's most
popular cities: a survey had suggested that many
Canadian residents felt that visiting another Canadian
city was tantamount to cheating. Their response was a
joint campaign whose slogan read "It's okay to cheat...
on your city."
Trucks mocked up to resemble public toilets and
confessional booths were rolled out across the cities,
with members of the public being encouraged to stop by
and confess their sins - or visits to other cities - with the
catchphrase: "Come in for a quickie... to win a Montreal
Getaway."
! PAGE 8
9. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
"Jersey doesn't stink"
Fed up with New Jersey's reputation as the B-side
of America, the state's High Point Auto Insurance
company decided to launch its very own campaign to
convince others that the Garden State wasn't actually
that bad. The campaign's website Jersey Doesn’t Stink,
features a video of a walking, talking air freshener
asking New Jersey residents what they like most about
the state, while an online store offers items of clothing
and accessories bearing the logo "Jersey doesn't stink."
The agency responsible for the website described
the campaign as "a reaction to the negative image that
the state has been getting for decades." However the
fact that only 1,500 people have signed the website's
online declaration that New Jersey doesn't stink
suggests rather limited success.
New Mexico: "The best place in the universe"
New Mexico may have romantic sunsets and wide
open spaces, but a recent tourism campaign went large
on another supposed selling point - aliens. Conspiracy
fans will note that the US state is famous for a supposed
alien space craft that crashed near the city of Roswell in
1947. The local tourist board decided to cash in on that
reputation with a series of posters depicting aliens
enjoying New Mexico's various attractions - relaxing in
spas, enjoying candlelit dinners and cycling through
canyons while discussing the state's attributes, along
with the tagline "The best place in the universe. New
Mexico, Earth."
Unfortunately, New Mexicans hated the scary-
looking aliens. Tourism officials were also sceptical, one
commenting, "Aliens are fine, but do they need to be
creatures that look like they're going to suck your brains
out?" The advertising agency M&C Saatchi was initially
urged to come up with a friendlier-looking version of
the extra terrestrials, but the adverts were allowed to
run unchanged when visitors to the state rocketed.
- Bharadwaj Battaram
IIM Rohtak
! PAGE 9
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PETA - OUTRAGEOUS
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Its mission is to get the animal rights message to as
(PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the many people as possible. And it does so relying on free
world, with more than 3 million members and "advertising" through media coverage. And, not
supporters. surprisingly, colorful and "controversial" demonstrations
PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in and campaigns like activists stripping to "go naked
which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most instead of wearing fur" consistently grab headlines.
intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory The "Naked" Campaign began several years ago
farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the when demonstrators—both male and female—marched
entertainment industry. It also works on a variety of behind a huge banner proclaiming that they would
other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds, "rather go naked than wear fur." More "naked"
and other "pests" as well as cruelty to domesticated demonstrations were held all over the world, the idea
animals. caught on, and PETA started receiving offers from
PETA works through public education, cruelty celebrities, including Christy Turlington, Marcus
investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, Schenkenberg, Kim Basinger, designer Todd Oldham,
special events, celebrity involvement, and protest and Pamela Anderson to participate.
campaigns. The following pages list some of the more
So, why does PETA use sometimes use nudity in outrageous campaigns launched by PETA.
their campaigns?
NEW YORK – FEBURARY 7: Former Basketball
Player Dennis Rodman Unveils New Peta Ad during
Fashion Week at Bryant Park on Feburary 7, 2005 in
New York City.
LONDON – AUGUST 17: A Naked PETA member lies wrapped
in cellophane and bloodied on large trays for Pro-Vegetarian
demonstration in Covent Garden on August 17, 2006 in London,
England. PETA EUROPE aims to demonstrate to shoppers that all
animals are made of flesh and bone and feel pain and that eating meat
is literally eating a corpse.
! PAGE 10
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PAMPLONA, SPAIN – JULY 5: People watch
animal rights protesters demonstrating against the
annual San Fermin Festival July 5, 2005 in Pamplona,
Spain. Hundreds of protestors stripped down semi-
naked to protest the annual running with the bulls
and bull fighting. Every year bulls are released each
morning of the festival into the streets during the
festival where about 500 people try to avoid them.
HOLLYWOOD – OCTOBER 26: Comedian
Andy Dick asks students to “Cut Class Not Frogs” in a
new ad for PETA at Fairfax High School on October
26, 2005 in Hollywood, California.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 24:
Brandi Valladolid, a member of People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA), protests in front of
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) near the City Hall on 25 MARCH 2004 – Model Imogen Bailey
October 24, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea. They and poses nude with a rabbit for an anti-fur advert
other demonstrators from the PETA protest to for PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment
pressure KFC to eliminate abuses that chickens suffer of Animals in Sydney, Australia.
on the factory farms and in the slaughter houses: live
scalding, life long crippling and debarking.
! PAGE 11
12. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
LONDON – OCTOBER 21: Four male models from
London’s Images Modelling agency pose in front of a
banner to promote PETA’s new campaign “Bare Skin, Not
Bear Skin” October 21, 2003 in London. PETA (People For
The Ethical Treatment Of Animals) are campaining against
The Household Guards bear skin hats that can use as many
as two entire bear hides to make just one hat.
PITTSBURGH – JULY 12: Close-up images of
Survivor’s winner Jenna Morasca poster of PETA’s,
“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” new
anti-fur ad. Jenna Morasca made a personal
appearence outside of a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
department store on July 11, 2003.
LONDON – NOVEMBER 28: PETA
(People For The Ethical Treatment Of
Animals) protestors dressed up in chicken
outfits wait outside the Central Hall to meet
Al Gore on November 28, 2007 in London.
PETA promote vegetarianism as a must for
people who care about the environment.
PARIS – JANUARY 31: Ice Skater Surya
Bonali performs For PETA to denounce the
massacre of baby seals in the Canadian Far
North, on the skating rink of Asnieres-sur-
Seine on January 31, 2007 near Paris, France.
- Bharadwaj Battaram
IIM Rohtak
! PAGE 12
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A LOT MORE TO OUTRAGE
Every now and then, an ad campaign comes along that holds us, captures our attention, mesmerizes us. In the
following pages are listed some of more outrageous campaigns, some of our personal favorites.
2002 FIFA World Cup
During the 2002 World Cup, a doctored photo
appeared on the cover of the British newspaper “The
Mirror.” The photo depicted members of the
Argentinian defense with women’s handbags in front of a
goal. The photo instantly made the rounds on the
Internet, ultimately becoming one of the most shared
photos of all time. Though the stunt was not a direct
marketing ploy of the FIFA World Cup establishment,
the shared photo helped to further heighten the already
global prestige of the event.
Kraft
In an effort to build up their online presence, Kraft
launched a branded microsite called “Cheesy Movies.”
The site, which corresponded with Kraft’s much larger
back-to-school promotions, allowed participants to
create an account and develop their own animated
movies up to 25 seconds long. The short films featured
an array of different props and characters for participants
to work with and manipulate. The microsite was a hit
with both kids and parents. Thousands of movies were
created with each participant spending on average
between 30 minutes and an hour on the site.
! PAGE 13
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The Subservient Chicken
The Subservient Chicken for Burger King was
introduced in 2004. The branded micro site consisted of
an interactive web cam that filmed a person dressed in a
chicken costume who would perform certain acts the
user typed into the site. Users flocked to the site in
droves, accumulating more than 15 million visits in the
first 5 days. Today, the site has attracted over 450 million
hits; however, that does not mean that it has been a
success. The provocative, yet creepy site is amusing and
a great way to waste time, but does it really make Burger
King’s soggy fries taste any better? Does it make the
fast food chain hip and edgy, or shady and desperate?
Probably a little of both.
Philips
Philips pushed the envelop of decency with their
Shave Everywhere site that promoted Bodygroom, a
new product by Philips. The site and its
accompanying video ad made light of a very, shall we
say, uncomfortable topic for men to discuss. The
campaign generated millions of views and visits to the
Shave Everywhere site and has given the electronics
company an unexpectedly “edgy” persona. The “Tell
a Friend” feature on the bottom right hand corner of
the site was particularly useful in helping the
campaign make the Internet rounds.
Nine Inch Nails
To promote their concept album “Year Zero,” US rock
group Nine Inch Nails released a rather mysterious t-shirt
with the phrase “I am trying to believe.” The phrase was a
registered URL that connected to other websites that
described a dystopian world based in the year 0000. These
sites ultimately led users to an original alternate reality
game (ARG) chronicling the year 2022, when America was
“reborn” and year O occurs. The game consisted of a series
of websites, phone numbers, emails, videos, MP3s, murals,
and other media that expanded upon the storyline woven
through the album. The album went on to sell nearly
200,000 copies within the first week, peaking at #2 on
the Billboard charts.
! PAGE 14
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Cloverfield
“Cloverfield,” before it was released in January
2008, was one of the most buzzed about films of 2007.
In fact, the initial teaser trailer shown before the 2007
“Transformers” film did not even reveal the film’s title,
but simply ended with a website (1-18-08.com), further
encouraging the web-driven marketing of the film.
MySpace pages were created for many of the movie’s
fictional characters, as well as for the fictional
companies mentioned in the film. This maze of viral
bait helped the film achieve the biggest January
opening in history. “Cloverfield,” which was produced
for $25 million, went on to gross more than $170
million worldwide.
The Dark Knight
Keeping in the same vein as “Cloverfield,” “The Dark Knight” took a similar approach in it’s
viral efforts. One of the first promotional stunts involved a fake website for Harvey Dent’s (one
of the main characters in the film) fictional campaign for District Attorney. Posters stating, “I
Believe in Harvey Dent” were shareable and able to be emailed to friends. Once the other person
received the email, the poster would slowly change to reveal the image of The Joker. Once the
image was revealed, The Joker’s face was quickly replaced by the text, “see you in December.”
Other websites attached to the film allowed for users to vote for various public offices
throughout Gotham. More viral elements included a website devoted to the fictional newspaper
“The Gotham Times” (which led to numerous other website that revealed info about the film)
and the launching of WhySoSerious.com which revealed more images of The Joker as well as the
first teaser trailer. Such elements combined with the stellar reviews of the film and breathtaking
performance of the late Heath Ledger helped the film to gross more than $1 billion dollars
worldwide.
! PAGE 15
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The Last Exorcism
The parents were worried that this movie
poster depicting the Last Exorcism girl who may
have suffered from violence, was placed on buses,
in cinemas and free magazines about cinema. It
was announced that a poster for the film was
banned in public UK places, due to the nature of
the poster (described as "offensive", "distressing",
and "unsuitable for public viewing") which
received 77 complaints, of which two people
claimed the girl in the poster seemed to have
"suffered a sexual assault". It was then decided
the advert was not allowed to be seen again in
that format.
Antonio Federici
The magazine ad for ice cream maker Antonio Federici
showed the nun eating a tub of ice cream, with text that
read: "Immaculately conceived ... Ice cream is our
religion."
The Advertising Standards Authority received several
complaints from magazine readers who said the ad was
offensive to Christians saying imagery used to illustrate
immaculate conception was mocking the beliefs of Roman
Catholics.
”We came to the conclusion that such advertising
ice cream can greatly offend readers, and especially those
readers who are Catholics.” So the British Committee
decided on Advertising Standards (ASA). The ad was
banned, but the job was certainly done.
Killer Heals, NMA
The advert promoting national newspapers was banned by
watchdogs after 81 people complained that it was offensive, sexist
and condoned violence.
The ASA ruled that the advert trivialised violence even
though it used a deliberately unrealistic image.
The NMA said its advert targeted fashion brands, which have
largely stopped advertising in newspapers, and had been "highly
original" to ensure people paid attention.
The creators of advertising just wanted to play on words,
calling the ad Killer Heels. Nevertheless, the picture was
published in almost all the leading publications of Great Britain
and has sold several billion.
! PAGE 16
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Ryanair
No, the ads did not seem banal to anyone. Its banned because
they sunbathe in February and March at the resorts when its too
cold. No need to introduce people astray!
While noting the destinations "enjoyed significant daytime
sunshine in February and March", the authority said the average
daily temperatures at the time of year were too chilly for visitors to
be wearing swimwear.
Oh, Lola!
Marc Jacobs
Designer Marc Jacobs described his new fragrance Oh, Lola!
as: "sensual", saying how the little sister scent to the hugely
successful Lola is: "More of a Lolita than a Lola".
Complaints stated that Dakota Fanning was being portrayed
in an irresponsible and sexualised manner. The ASA responded by
stating: "We noted that the model was holding up the perfume
bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered
that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the
model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the
age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and
position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality.
Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad
could be seen to sexualise a child."
Miu Miu, by Prada
The UK’s ASA deemed the Miu Miu ad featuring
the 14-year-old Steinfeld sitting on a train track
“irresponsible because it depicted a child in an unsafe
location.”
The surprised Miu Miu next ad campaign featured
model Guinevere Van Seenus, who, at 34 years old, was
more the twice Steinfeld's age.
! PAGE 17
18. MARQUE! 25 DECEMBER 2011
And the Most Outrageous are...
Virgin Holidays, Rockstar
Virgin Holidays' poster campaign ran in the London
Underground and showed four people in the Jacuzzi surrounded by
empty bottles and glasses. It promoted Virgin Holidays' Travel Guru
product as a "rockstar service.”
Virgin Holidays said the aim of the campaign was to emphasize
that customers' every desire could be met.It added that the Jacuzzi
filled with champagne was an example of the "most outlandish and
decadent request that someone might make of the service".
However, the ASA said the number of bottles in the scene and
the character with more than one glass in his hand indicated a "casual
attitude towards the handling and consumption of alcohol".
"We concluded that the scene depicted in the ad, and actions of
the glamorous characters in it, was likely to appeal to people under 18
years of age and encourage people to adopt styles of drinking that
were unwise," said the ASA, which banned the ad.
United Colors of Benetton, Unhate
Object: the aim of contrasting the culture of hatred and
promoting closeness between peoples, faiths, cultures, and
the peaceful understanding of each other’s motivations.
The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol
of love, between world political and religious leaders.
Mr. Benetton declared: “At this moment in history, so fu" of
major upheavals and equa"y large hopes, we have decided, through
this campaign, to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of
tolerance and invite the citizens of every country to reflect on how
hatred arises particularly #om fear of ‘the other’ and of what is
unfamiliar to us. Ours is a universal campaign, using instruments
such as the internet, the world of social media, and artistic
imagination, and it is unique, in that it ca"s the citizens of the world
to action.”
- Bharadwaj Battaram
Editor, Canvas
IIM Rohtak
! PAGE 18
19. MARQUE! 6 NOVEMBER 2011
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