Company Takes Branding Literally

Superette, a store in Auckland, New Zealand, came up with an interesting way to spread the word about a sale they were having on shorts. Here’s how their ad agency describes the campaign:

“We put indented plates on bus stop, mall, and park benches, so that when people sat down, the message was imprinted on their thighs. This meant that as well as having branded seats, a veritable army of free media was created, with thousands of imprints being created and lasting up to an hour.”

Whoa. On the one hand this tactic is very insidious, but on the other hand it’s so clever! I am like Natalie Imbruglia: TORN!

Maybe we’ll get lucky, and it won’t catch on here. Wouldn’t it be hard to pull off? Sure, it’d work if cities were filled with models who walked around in short shorts (which is how I imagine it is in New Zealand). But it seems more likely that the plates will just end up denting the pants of beleaguered office workers who are making cellphone calls on their lunch breaks. At least when they go back to the offices their colleagues can get a kick out of trying to make out the faint outlines on their legs — and you know the ads will say things like “Let OfficeMax Help You Get a Leg Up on Your Competition.”

[Via]