We have been looking at some massively successful marketing campaigns by unknown people with simple and sometimes odd ideas…it has been amazing to see the power and reach of social media! Here are some of our favourites; just a synopsis with links for further investigation if you haven’t already heard of them!
Ship Your Enemies Glitter – Matthew Carpenter: On 12th January 2015, Matthew launched a website called “Ship Your Enemies Glitter.” For a small fee, users could send an envelope filled with glitter to someone they disliked. The Website was launched and with the help of social media went viral in 24 hours. Thousands of orders were placed, the website crashed and Matt had no way over coping with the demand….and couldn’t cope with all the glitter! By 22nd January had sold the domain for $85,000! The website is still going, Ship Your Enemies Glitter and you can also send glitter (and other fun stuff) to your friends who love glitter!
Dollar Shave Club – Michael Dubin: In 2012, Michael launched a subscription option on his existing website for monthly deliveries of razors and shaving products. He made a humerous promotional video that was posted on YouTube. The video went viral, (showcasing his comedic talents) communicating the company’s product so effectively they received 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours! As well as securing millions of subscribers, they went on to win several awards for the campaign. In 2016 the company was bought by Unilever for $1 billion. There has been talk about them opening up in London, but so far no sign of a UK website.
Cards Against Humanity – a group of 8 High School students. In December 2010 a group of politically minded students set up a crowdfunding page to finance a politically incorrect adult party game, and by January 30th 2011 they had raised $15,000 which was 400% of their original goal! The following May the game was released and a month later it was the number one game on Amazon! They have gone from strength to strength by doing all sorts of silly things and random acts of kindness. It’s focused on all things USA but to catch a glimps of their marketing skills see their website Cards Against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity Saves America – Cards Against Humanity: Had to include one of their campaigns – in 2017, they launched “Cards Against Humanity Saves America.” 150,000 exisiting customers paid $15 for 6 days of ‘surprises’. The money was used to buy a plot of land on the U.S.-Mexico border to impede the construction of a border wall. The daily surprises included a map of land and certificate. They also refunded 10,000 people their $15 and gave 100 people a check for $1,000, all in the name of wealth inequality. This campaign can be seen in full Cards Agains Humanity Saves America
Elf Yourself – Jason Zada: In 2006, a little-known filmmaker named Jason Zada created a website called “Elf Yourself” for Office Max, an office supply company. The site allowed users to upload photos of themselves and friends, which would then be superimposed onto dancing elves in entertaining videos. The campaign was launched in November for the Christmas season, and in 6 weeks had received 194 million views and more than 123 million people had uploaded photos of themselves onto dancing elves! It was a viral sensation and continued to be so the following year, becoming a Christmas tradition for Office Max, counting down the days until the next time at Elf Yourself!
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