unconventional
HALO 3
Believe
Agency: McCann Erickson
Creative director:
John Patroulis
campaigns Asked to attract new customers for the Xbox 360 launch of its futuristic
science fiction game Halo 3, McCann Erickson in San Francisco
decided to create a whole fake war-mongering world. A 1,200 square
foot battlefield diorama was constructed as the centrepiece to a real
Pippa Considine looks at unconventional advertising It Where You Want It Tour’ for Nike’s T90 Laser football boot brand, through museum, which also honoured the fictitious
campaigns, from Cannes grand prix winners to London’s Nitro agency. This was a truly off-the-wall campaign produced by hero, Master Chief.
some of this year’s more unorthodox advertiser- Great Guns director Paul Shearer. “It was built in an incredibly engaging way,” says Kevin Roddy,
funded events, and reveals why they hit the mark executive creative director at BBH. “Everybody talks about new media
TAKING RISKS and the age of engagement, but this is how you get your consumer to
Smart advertisers, such as Nike, have learnt to take risks. They have worked engage – if it’s not a great idea, it will fall flat.”
O
nce upon a time, an advertiser’s dream was to make a stunning 30- closely with carefully picked brand allies and used the experience of John Patroulis, creative director on the campaign, explains: “The
second ad and become part of marketing history. Now, the dream partners and specialists to ensure that unconventional advertising objective was to use every medium we could to communicate the
is more cloudy. Yes, they still want to find that piece of world-class campaigns don’t take the all-too obvious route of becoming tacky and simple idea that Master Chief is a true hero to all humankind. From
content, but it could just as easily be embodied as a widget, a piece of gimmicky or obscure. building monuments, creating fictional documentaries and interactive
artwork, a TV series or a diorama (a miniature scene, in which models of The web is littered with unwatched virals, and more elaborate new media tours of the diorama to hanging plaques commemorating his exploits.”
figures are seen against a painted background). Nothing, it seems, is sacred. schemes are not immune to failure. Wal-Mart’s attempt to launch a social This unconventional strategy paid huge dividends – Halo 3’s opening
At the end of last year, Diesel chose to promote its thirtieth birthday party networking site was a high profile failure, closing shortly after launch amid weekend generated US$170m and it’s since sold over seven million
celebrations with a viral featuring a sequence of 70’s porn videos, with claims that its PR agency had fabricated posts on the site, ostensibly from copies. Naturally, it has scooped awards all over.
indecent parts cleverly animated to make something altogether less X-rated genuine users. Similarly, monster.com closed down its personality quiz- “It’s playing to a universal truth of warfare and heroes,” says Paul
than the originals. Of course, natty mobile applications and influential virals based social networking site, Tickle. Woolmington, titanium jury member at Cannes last year and founding
are already somewhere at the top of an advertising campaign’s list of most- On the following pages, we’ve picked ten of the best and most recent partner of Naked Communications. “The genius of it was the attention
wanted, but the best branded content can be found in other, more surprising unconventional advertising campaigns from around the world. Each in its to detail and the back story. I just love the fact that they actually made
places. Take Havana Club Cuban Rum 100 pieces and its artwork by own way demonstrates how unusual campaigns, when executed well and the diorama.” trianglert
international artists, which really captures the spirit of the brand. Or ‘The Put integrated seamlessly, can make the very best of advertising.
inmotion I 71
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