Stunt

World Vision Canada’s Hard-Hitting Campaign Against Child Slavery

June 13, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

At first, I didn’t quite no what I was seeing as I looked up from what I was doing. On the TV I saw a small child being advertised for sale on what looked like a shopping channel.

By the time I had found the remote and turned on the sound, the logo for World Vision Canada appeared and what I was seeing began to make some sense. What doesn’t make sense is the daunting statistic that every year over 1.2 million children around the world are sold into slavery. Find out more about child slavery and how you can help at nochildforsale.ca.

The campaign came to life with a stunt executed at Pam Chorley’s Fashion Crimes in Toronto and at Vancouver’s Crocodile Baby. Word of a secret sale brought people and press to the sidewalk in front of both stores, where paper covering the windows was removed to reveal a shocking display of child actors portraying child labourers sewing and breaking bricks.

The media and creative come from KBS+P Canada Toronto-based Real Interactive.

No Child Should Ever Be For Sale TV Campaign

The Making of ‘No Child Should Ever Be For Sale’

[via Creative Criminals]

Filed Under: Non Profit, Stunt Tagged With: Canada, child slavery, KBS+P, Real Interactive, toronto, vancouver, World Vision Canada

MINI Mexico Shocks Women With Bathroom Airbag Stunt

June 2, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

The stakes keep rising in the competition to attract people’s attention online. Agencies around the world continue to release videos featuring (supposedly) unsuspecting people reacting to elaborately orchestrated pranks.

In this example created by Publicis for MINI Mexico, they hope to raise awareness of the danger of distracted drivers, particularly among women who apply makeup while driving. Women who stopped to freshen their makeup, screamed in shock when an airbag exploded out of the specially rigged soap dispenser.

The clip attempts to make a tenuous connection between data like “6 out of 10 women wouldn’t dream of going to work without makeup” and “1 out of 4 believe that not wearing makeup could cost them a promotion” to make the conclusion that that is why some women apply makeup while driving. Or maybe it’s not such a far-fetched thought, as a 2009 UK study found that more than 1 in 5 women drivers admitted to having applied cosmetics while driving.

[via Design Taxi]

Filed Under: Automobiles, Stunt Tagged With: makeup, Mexico, mini, Publicis, road safety

Talisker Whisky Storms London With Harsh Weather Installation

May 10, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

Coming from the east coast of Canada I grew up with unpredictable weather. I’m sure most people who grow up near the ocean are familiar with the expression, “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes.” The Isle of Skye, located on the northwest coast of Scotland is certainly one of those environments whose weather is at the influence and whim of the sea.

The only distiller to call the Isle of Sky home is Talisker. At the beginning of this year the distillery introduced a bold new whisky dubbed Talisker Storm. To celebrate it’s launch the brand along with Vivid Design Works created a 25 foot tall interactive storm installation, bringing dark clouds, high wind and driving rain to the area outside the Design Museum in London.

People passing by were handed a raincoat and umbrella, and for those who managed to brave the weather a well-deserved glass of Talisker Storm was waiting.

[via Branding Magazine]

Filed Under: Food & Drink, Stunt Tagged With: distillery, Isle of Skye, Talisker Whiskey, UK

Renault Spices Up Clio Test Drives with the Va Va Voom Button

March 28, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

A standard test-drive is a pretty ho-hum affair, you’re handed the keys (you may sign a release), and with under the watchful eyes of the sales person, you take a car for a controlled spin around the block.

To demonstrate the excitement of the redesigned Renault Clio, unsuspecting test-drivers were asked to press the “Va Va Voom” button located on the entertainment console in the middle of the car’s dashboard. Once the button has been pressed, the area around the car is transformed into Paris street corner, including a backdrop of the Eiffel tower, actors posing as reunited lovers, cafe customers, street vendors, musicians and (depending on the driver’s gender) a group of shirtless guys or sexy can-can dancers. Did I mention the free baguettes?

The stunt was created by Manning Gottlieb OMD and Scorch London and distributed by Unruly Media.

Two Unsuspecting Girls Take The New Renault Clio For A Test Drive

Two Unsuspecting Guys Take The New Renault Clio For A Test Drive

[via Car Scoop]

Filed Under: Automobiles, Stunt Tagged With: Clio, Manning Gottlieb OMD, renault, UK, Unruly Media

Squad of LED-Carrying Quadrocopters Create Star Trek Logo in London Sky

March 26, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

On Saturday night Paramount Pictures in cooperation with the WWF marked the beginning and end of Earth Hour by displaying a massive Star Trek Academy in the London sky near Tower Bridge.

The 380 foot tall logo was created by the Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies using 30 LED-carrying quadrocopters (or 29, as two collide at 1:20 of the clip below, leaving one falling from the sky) powered by batteries charged in Austria using green energy.

Check out the Ars Electronica blog post ‘Spaxels in London‘ for an in-depth look at the challenging setup of the project.

[via Wired UK]

Filed Under: Movies, Stunt Tagged With: Ars Electronica Futurelab, Ascending Technologies, Earth Hour, London, Paramount Pictures, quadrocopters, Star Trek

Buongiorno Tokyo! Milan Metro Stop Transformed Into Japanese Subway Station

March 10, 2013 By Randy Matheson 1 Comment

Monday morning commuters on the Milan Metro arrived at Moscova Station to find themselves at what appeared to be a stop on the Tokyo subway. Milan-based agency M&CSaatchi had worked overnight to transform the station’s platform into Shibuya Station, one of the busiest stations on the Tokyo subway in a promotion for Italian internet-provider Fastweb.

The subway was staged complete with Japanese signage, advertising, and dozens of Japanese people posing as what everyday Tokyo commuters supposedly look like.

Having never visited Tokyo, I’ll have to rely on others to tell me if I would really see Geisha girls on a typical Monday morning commute.

[via @Issue]

Filed Under: Stunt Tagged With: Fastweb, Italy, M&CSaatchi, Milan, subway, Tokyo

TaskRabbit Hops Around SXSW in Fuzzy Bunny TaskVan

March 10, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

Outside of the conference itself, SXSW is known for it’s meetups, late-night parties and general shenanigans. So, seeing a giant fuzzy bunny cruising down the street may not come to a shock to bleary-eyed, hard-partying festival-goers.

TaskRabbit, the online marketplace that allows users to outsource small jobs and tasks to others in their neighborhood, is turning heads on the streets of SXSW this year in a fur-covered bunny van, complete with floppy ears and fluffy tail. With a hat-tip to the Mutt Cutts Van from the 1994 Jim Carrey/Jeff Daniels movie Dumb & Dumber, the TaskVan is hopping from event to event handing our tshirts and other schwag to festival-goers.

[via Mashabale]

photo via Twitter

Filed Under: Stunt Tagged With: Austin, SXSW, TaskRabbit, USA

Beer-brand Sol Tempts London Business Blokes with Necktie Recycling Bin

March 5, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

In this stunt for Sol beer, London businessmen passing through Canary Wharf underground station do a double-take as they pass by a recycling bin labelled ‘Ties’. The bin featured the message, “Lose the Tie, gain some Espiritu Libre”. After depositing their tie in the bin, the sound of hammering and sawing could be heard from inside, before what was left of their tie appeared attached to a coupon for a free beer.

In The Drum article Graham Wall, executive creative director at The Marketing Store, stated: “The tie can be a symbol of power and success, but it can also be seen as a shackle, part of the daily grind. We wanted to give office workers back a sense of their true selves – to make bold choices and be rewarded for it. The Espiritu Libre activity brings out that free spirited sense of liberation that every bogged-down city worker has in his heart.”

The campaign was created by the London offices of The Marketing Store.

[via The Drum]

Filed Under: Food & Drink, Stunt Tagged With: beer, canary wharf, London, necktie, Sol, UK

Creepy Hair Salon Stunt Scares-Up Interest for The Last Exorcism, Part II

February 27, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

In 2010, the independently produced horror movie ‘The Last Exorcism’ became a major hit, grossing a total of $41 million, many times over it’s original budget of $1.8 million. The film generated buzz with a grassroots campaign on Chatroulette, in which a girl begins to unbutton her top before transforming into a frightening vision before the viewers eyes. A clip collecting the best of viewer’s reactions have generated millions of views on YouTube.

The sequel, creatively titled ‘The Last Exorcism, Part II‘, is due to be released this Friday. To help generate the same kind of online buzz for the sequel, CBS Films set up cameras in a hair salon and filmed the results as they scared the crap out of customers, thanks to an actress (in creepy possessed-look make-up) positioned behind a two-way mirror.

While the stunt is predictable and not well-produced (or at least the video isn’t), but that hasn’t stopped it from generating over 1.5 million views in less than a week.

[UPDATE March 3] The film wrapped up it’s opening weekend in fourth place, grossing $8 million.

Be warned: Video contains strong language and super-creepy visuals.

[via Business Insider]

Filed Under: Movies, Stunt Tagged With: CBS, The Last Exorcism Part II, USA

New Zealand DJs Play Peeping Toms in ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’ Stunt

February 16, 2013 By Randy Matheson Leave a Comment

On November 19, More-FM drivetime host Clarke Gayford began discussing a provocative scene unfolding in the window of a home across the street. A woman, who appeared to be a prostitute was interacting with her clients in full view of the radio station’s broadcast studios. Over the next 2 days, the activity in the window became the talk of the show, with Gayford and his on-air team providing a play-by-play description for their listeners.

All was revealed (pun intended) on the third day as it turned out to the whole event was a stunt for the new season of ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl‘ on New Zealand’s Prime.

Agency DraftFCB Auckland had taken a brief calling for a 30 second radio ad, and turned into a stunt that played out on the air and on social media by their hosts and listeners of 3 of Auckland’s top radio stations.

Warning: clip contains a NSFW words (skip ahead to :24 to avoid)