Creative Guerilla Marketing Campaigns

With the downturn in the economy and marketing budgets smaller than the Dow Jones average, it’s a perfect opportunity for small business owners to compete in the branding wars. But to do so you have to be creative. Using “guerilla” marketing can be one avenue to make a big, and fun, impression on a small budget. Keep it simple, but make an impression. Try to find ideas that people will respond to, something to lighten their day, such as music, food, children, and art.

We are so overwhelmed with advertising everywhere that it becomes hard for creative agencies to make ads that stand out. Guerilla advertising is a great way to make unusual, surrealistic visuals and situations that passers by will remember. Here is a selection.

1. Superette – Short shorts

The bench that turns you into a walking advertisement if you are wearing short shorts. 

2. Folgers Coffee

Seen in New York, how would you not go grab a coffee there?

Here's something Gothamist has never seen in New York before - advertising on manhole covers. Via coloribus, it seems like Saatchi & Saatchi is doing some guerilla advertising for Folgers coffee. We must say that it's a brilliant use of manholes who, before this, were best used for tattoos. And while it's original, Gothamist doesn't think "mmm...coffee" when we smell some of the steam coming out of manholes. Next up for marketers, printing a vinyl cover with lots of dog poo on it. "Take a whiff, New York. A steaming pile of poo."

3. Submerged Gotham

Cool idea to promote the movie “The day after tomorrow”, it gives the illusion that NYC has been submerged by the waters

To promote the 2004 global-warming disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow to Indian audiences more likely to buy tickets for the latest Bollywood extravaganza, Indian ad agency Contract created a dramatic outdoor campaign for the Mumbai theater Fame Adlabs. They planted a billboard in the sea not far from Mumbai, so that it appeared submerged under water. In addition, the firm placed what looked like the tip of the Empire State Building further out to sea. The idea was to mimic the effect of Manhattan being overwhelmed by a giant wave in the movie—albeit off the Indian coast.

At Rio carnival, beer cans recycled in exchange for train rides

        A lot of social problems don’t have easy answers, let alone ones that truly engage consumers and alter their behavior. It’s probably rare that a promotional campaign for an alcoholic beverage can provide both solutions and benefits for its targeted audience. However, with its Beer Turnstile campaign, Brazil’s AmBev – in collaboration with advertising agency AlmapBBDO – did just this. Offering partygoers at the annual Rio carnival a free train ride home in exchange for handing in an empty can of its Antarctica beer, the company simultaneously avoided rubbish on the street, ensured the cans were recycled, reduced instances of drink driving by 43 percent, provided attendees with free transport and promoted the brand, the carnival and the train operators as socially responsible businesses.

Corona Billboard Transforms The Moon Into A Lime

Beer brand Corona Extra, in partnership with ad agency Cramer-Krasselt, incorporated the moon into their billboard in a unique ad campaign called Luna Corona.The brand worked with top universities and planetariums to gauge the precise moment and calculate the angle when the moon moves at the right place to appear like the slice of lime on top of the illustrated bottle on the billboard.

Luna Corona happened on June 14th and 15th at 15th Street and 19th Avenue in downtown New York.

Marketing Impact – Do it Like Heineken

Maximize your marketing impact with a mind-blowing video commercial – do it like Heineken!

Would you play Departure Roulette? Would you change your current plans and travel to a place the roulette picks for you?

Heineken released a new video commercial about a game of Departure Roulette. A few people at JFK Airport were ready to jump in and play the game without knowing what exactly to expect – that is, where their journey will end.

Best Marketing Campaigns: British Airways lookup in Piccadilly Circus

If you want to see some of the world’s biggest brands fighting for space to advertise just go to Piccadilly Circus and enjoy the scenery. Brands like Coca-Cola, Samsung, McDonald’s are all present on the main Piccadilly billboard. Make sure you visit this exciting place in the evening. The lights are phenomenal.

I’d like to share the ‘story’ of one particular billboard that caught my attention these days. It’s one of the smartest and most creative marketing campaigns I’ve seen. The company behind this magical billboard is British Airways (BA).

The billboard basically texts in real-time the flight information for every British Airway plane that passes. As soon as a BA plane flies over the Piccadilly Circus (the location of the billboard), a little kid shows up in the ad and points up at the sky, giving us some details about that particular flight. Check out the video below and see how it works…

Apple's New Christmas Ad Might Actually Make You Cry

It must be a little dusty in here, because there’s something in our eye. Or maybe it’s because we were just watching Apple’s new holiday ad. The 90-second spot shows off the power of the new iPhone, all while tugging at the heartstrings.

The best holiday ads have always leaned heavily on simplicity, nostalgia and a strong sense of family — who can forget the Folgers ad where the son comes home from college to surprise the family on Christmas morning — it’s endured since 1985. Apple is taking a page from that playbook with their new holiday-centric commercial, “Misunderstood.”

Jaguar takes bite out of Mercedes' Magic Body Control chicken ad

We were quite impressed by Mercedes-Benz when it aired its Magic Body Control commercial, starring a group of suitably funky chickens demonstrating their ability to jive to Diana Ross and the Supremes. Now,Jaguar has taken the opportunity to poke some fun at its German rival, releasing its own take on the Magic Body Control spot, and um, there's a big cat involved.

We aren't sure if "Jaguar vs. Chicken" will make it onto TV any time soon, but it's still fun to see the British brand take the mickey out of Mercedes – it's rare to see automakers go after each other so bluntly in their marketing efforts.