Friday, April 4, 2008

Viral Ad Campaign- Sopranos


While searching the internet for interesting ad campaigns, I came across this one from The Sopranos in 2006. It was a viral campaign throughout New York City in 2006 and I thought it was so clever. Yes, New Yorkers are known to be cynical and unaffected, I think this campaign definitely garnered attention. A fake arm was affixed underneath the trunk of cabs throughout the city, emulating the hit-man-mafia theme around which the show is based. A small bumper sticker advertising the HBO series is clearly underneath the arm, but definitely a sticker you wouldn't notice without that second glance.

This is the type of campaign that would make anyone do a double take and look again; how often does anyone see body parts hanging from a car's trunk? It totally appeals to the current fascination in American pop culture of all things crime related- from forensic shows like CSI, crime based like Law and Order, or even ones making heroes out of criminals ala the Sopranos. While watching these shows, everyone images what it would be like to be involved in the plot situations. What would I do if I found the dead body? What if I was a witness? Or even worse, what if I'm a victim? Then seeing the Sopranos sticker would clear up an misconceptions, but most likely garner a chuckle out of even the most cynical New Yorkers and make for a great work of mouth story; "Hey, guess what I saw today?"

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