BMX ad was clever, but it was like accidentally sleeping with a hooker
This story begins in February. Like many offices, I’m sure you get various random links forwarded of stuff your colleagues have found on the interwebz, or more likely had forwarded to them.
So I was one of thousands to see a hilarious ad on eBay for a BMX:
“This is a max wicked sick BMX. It’s a Reliance Boomerang and it’s done heaps of maximum extreme stunts.
I have mostly done stunts on this bike since forever. Once I did a boom gnarly stunt trick on it and a girl got pregnant just by watching my extremeness to the maxxxx.
Some details about sickmax BMX: Comes with everything you see including:
- TOPS AS SUSPENSION REAR FORKS!!
- 2 x wheels 1 x seat
- I will even thrown my sick BMXing name for FREE – Wicked Styx.
- Has minor surface rust on handlebars and front forks (easily removed). More rust on rear forks (as shown in pics).
- Tyres hold air but are pretty old.
Basically, it’s an old BMX, but it’s radness is still 100% in tact.
Tricks I have done on this BMX:
- Endos – 234.
- Sick Wheelies – 687.
- Skids – 143,000.
- Bunny Hops – 2 (Bunny Hops are gay and my brother dared me to do them, which I did because I’m Rad to the power of Sick).
- Flipouts – 28.
Basically if you buy this bike you will instantly become a member to every club that was ever invented, worldwide, because you will be awesome.
Pick up from Richmond in Melbourne.
Throw your hands in the air like you just don’t mind.”
Entertaining stuff. After an enjoyable 60 seconds or so, I thought no more of it until a few months later.
That was until I had coffee a few weeks back with Nigel Marsh, the CEO of Y&R Brands. He proudly showed me a video that Y&R Melbourne had made:
At the time it wasn’t on any of the video sharing sites, which is why I didn’t write anything then(hat-tip Zac Martin who blogged about it last week after finding it on YouTube), but I must admit I felt somewhat conflicted. My ad industry loving side was deeply impressed. It was indeed a great case study for creativty, a demonstration of a 500% increase in profit (if you don’t take into account the staff time involved).
It showed that good ads work – same product, same medium, different result.
So an excellent result for GPY&R.
And yet, and yet…
My first reaction was to feel slightly sad.
The small smile I’d had in the office a few months before had not been real. I had not been reading the joyful description of a much loved outdoor companion, but the inauthentic manipulations of a good copywriter.
I felt, I imagine, like someone who sleeps with a beautiful woman believing she’s enjoying his good looks and wit, only to discovers in the morning that they’ve accidentally bedded a prostitute who’s now waiting to be paid.
In both cases, the professional may well be worthy of respect and may have done a good job, but the punter would probably have wanted to be aware of it beforehand.
Not entirely sure if I was being reasonable, I shared the news with colleagues when I got back.
“Is anything real on the internet?” appeared to be the consensus.
And that’s the thing. From the fake tattoo girl in the Tourism Queensland best job in the world competition, to Witchery Heidi’s hunt for the man in the jacket, to the ‘seeded’ ads for the Dorito’s promotion, to Ten’s “leaked” 7pm Project promos, to speculation over the Richard Branson airline food letter to fake NSW Police Twitter accounts, even David Droga’s wonderful tagging Airforce One stunt, this industry seems to be behind most of them.
Of course, each time a fake is exposed, the public level of cynicism grows. In each case, the letdown is small, but in each one we are left questioning our own judgement and feelings in a small way. And, of course, as punters get distrustful, it gets harder the next time.
It’s a cumulative effect. Wicked sick as the BMX project was, in its own small way it added to the problem.
Tim Burrowes
Yep, I’m with you Tim. I liked the BMX ad on EBAY, but now, I feel a bit cheated!
A genuine, authentic execution with a normal commercial purpose would be a refreshing change…
Guy
Strategy Director, Autumn:01
User ID not verified.
So marketers shouldn’t use their copywriting skills on eBay?
I agree with the lack of transparency with some of the examples you’ve used, but this is a little different isn’t it? People deliberately attempt to write descriptions that will attract high bids all the time, can you call this a fake just because these guys are good at what they do?
User ID not verified.
Love the analogy, reminds me of that factoid of the 2 oldest professions.
User ID not verified.
Also, this resembles the time machine & ecco the dolphin fake listings used to increase the profile of trademe.co.nz site before selling – except, it was origional then. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/tech.....d=10348128
User ID not verified.
I find it kind of sad that when first reading the eBay ad, I had the crawling feeling that it WAS viral, some kinda stunt. Something about the ‘fully extreme’ language – it felt kinda hollow.
It’s a crappy, crappy reaction to have. Does it mean agency folk are lazy or my Gen Y Cyn-O-Meter is turned up to 11?
User ID not verified.
This is not how “creativity” helps you sell a product it’s how “lies” help sell a product.
As all the info that made the ad interesting was a lie. Is this how advertising is?
Still thought it was funny they just needed to lose the line about it being about creativity.
User ID not verified.
This campaign was rad to the power of sick. If anything, it only validates the thinking that creativity is the spice of a good sales pitch.
Lighten up boys and girls, it’s all fun and games!
User ID not verified.
Who the **** says ‘RAD’, really?
User ID not verified.
Build a bridge people.
User ID not verified.
I like it. Well done gents.
A nice modern take on the blind guy with the sign ‘it is spring and I am blind’ to show people, especially clients, that a bit of love and care and effort can be rewarded with more $$.
Cheers,
Andy ‘Redline Proline’ McKeon
User ID not verified.
If the role of the ad and video was to illustrate a point on creativity, it works.
I think it is refreshing to see a new way to promote creativity. The industry needs to see creativity as an important asset to sales and I think this does a good job.
It shouldn’t be taken to literally. The YouTube piece has been around for a good while and well commented on in many blogs. I think that the majority see it as a clever illustration rather than advertising trickery.
User ID not verified.
I can’t believe you just slandered “rad”….
User ID not verified.
If i was searching for a creative advertising agency, this would be a strong indicator of ability to promote a brand. I think it is a great promotion for the agency.. “hands in the air if you just dont mind” hahah
User ID not verified.
I’m impressed with the experiment but I think it highlights too growing problems:
1. Creativity is increasingly seen by consumers as duplicity (nb this is not a digital specific issue in my mind)
2. Increasingly the cost in time/effort outweighs the result
Any chance Nige told you the amount of time spent on developing the idea?
User ID not verified.
I think the whole thing was rad to the power of sick.
Let’s not take ourselves too seriously. After all this is just the kind of crazy stunt that us zany advertising people would pull.
User ID not verified.
At the heart of this lies the issue of brands and storytelling.
I think it all depends on how much as a consumer you can suspend disbelief. I suspect most would have taken the BMX ad in the fun tone it was intended.
Were potential bike buyers duped or lied to?! Well, yes and no. But then the BMX example is not a million miles away from the recent Herringbone campaign:
http://theinspirationroom.com/.....newspaper/
Were the public lied to here?! Were blokes duped into thinking their shirts were hand-crafted by a Frenchman with dwarfism of the appendages?!
I suspect this “storytelling” by Herringbone would have been taken in much the same tone as for the Chk Chk BMX …
In the other cases you mention, there seems to be less transparent “storytelling” going on and much more opaque er, lying.
User ID not verified.
I find the best rule of thumb on the internet is “guilty until proven innocent”. I can’t remember the last time a funny email came into my inbox and it was real. The internets definitely inspire cynicism.
But that isn’t the case here. The You Tube clearly states they are illustrating a point that a great creative execution can vastly increase the ROI.
For the purposes of the exercise, they had to keep it on the lowdown until after the sale (plus they couldn’t make the You Tube until after the sale… duh). Factor in the fact they’re probably busy people and there’s your lag.
The eBay ad went viral because of its nature.
I actually think this is a really refreshing thing compared to all the hoaxes listed above. At the end of the day they’ve put this out there as an educational tool. If there’s a sweetener for them it’s “come speak to GPY&R” next time you want 500% ROI. At least they weren’t trying to pull the wool over your eyes to sell you corn chips.
User ID not verified.
If this “creativity experiment” had cleverly enhanced the sale value of the product by providing a detailed well written description creatively written in ‘GenY’ to appeal to it’s target market then I’d be all for it. Unfortunately it took things a step further by discrediting their own skills by lying to their target market. Ok, maybe the lies were so obviously lies any reader should have cottoned on … does that make it better though?
User ID not verified.
Terrific contribution ScotchAl.
User ID not verified.
‘Hooker’?! Tim, I’m sending the Scarlet Alliance after you!
User ID not verified.
Hi Jocelyn,
Thanks for your comment. My apologies if my terminology causes unintended offence to any working women – or indeed, if comparison to the advertising industry causes reputational damage.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
I’m with you Tim,
loved the ad, and as a case study, very well done. But still left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Like ScotchAL said… they’re essentially just lying to their target market… a bit of a slap in the face in my book.
User ID not verified.
So… let me get this right. Y&R Brands has BMX as a client? Or was this just a bored bunch of underemployed creatives having a laugh with what profit they could make out of eBay? Or does Y&R represent eBay? And does anyone care?
Regardless, it was diverting and funny and made me laugh – as well as reminding me of the maxims “buyer beware” and “if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is”.
I’m more amused by the consumer who decided it was worth parting money for. He’s the chap who ended up making the decision to buy it.
User ID not verified.
This kind of ‘gotcha’ stunt has started to become commonplace in the digital space.
People hate being made fools of. When they finally realise “it was just an ad” they feel cheated.
Cheated consumers will not like the brand and certainly won’t buy it.
Which reminds me, how are the Witchery sales going?
Anyone?
Anyone?
User ID not verified.
I was reminded by one of our guys here that a very similar thing did the rounds last year….
Hmm…
http://www.craigslist.org/abou.....70039.html
User ID not verified.
I’d love to see the brief for this that was written before the EBay ad went up. This is clearly a case of trying to attach the horse to the cart after you rightly closed the stable door so the horse never had the chance to bolt – if that makes any sense.
Anyway, can the creatives just admit that they did this on their own and then management decided to brand it Y&R once it became popular?
User ID not verified.
Disclosure: I work in the same building as the people responsible for this.
I sent the YouTube link to my 12 year old son. He thought it was pretty clever. His most interesting comment though, was:
“That’s actually a pretty cool bike. I’d pay 120 bucks for it. If I had the money.”
User ID not verified.