Bridgestone wanted to herald the production of their 35 millionth tyre and talk about the success of the factory and its commitment to New Zealand. Rather than focusing on the massive contribution to industry and employment that this milestone signalled, They instead decided to highlight the special place that tyres have in New Zealanders’ memories and lives. Pretty much everyone in New Zealand has a fond recollection of swinging on a tyre swing, strung up in a field. To announce that the Firestone factory in New Zealand had manufactured its 35 millionth tyre, they sent out a ‘limited edition’ tyre swing to 40 editors, radio DJs and other media types who generally have plenty of other things to talk about than the success of Firestone and their 35 million tyres. It’s a good example of a DM action that starts little wildfires in word of mouth, primarily because of the size of such a tyre, for starters, and in the second place because of the emotional connection. It’s all about being remarkable, and if you look at it from that point of view, how many people do you know that have gotten a tyre delivered to them for a marketing stunt? These are exceptional things people just love to talk about. I like this. A lot.
Agency: Tequila, New Zealand
Via: AdsOfTheWorld
Dean
March 27, 2007 at 6:39 pm
In the US, we spell it “tire” but I think “tyre” is way cooler. “Y” is just one of those sadly underused letters.
This is a really cool ad campaign btw – even though most people won’t see it, perhaps enough people will hear about it to get the brand into their minds.
Coolz0r
March 27, 2007 at 6:56 pm
yeah, and if you use the plural form and say “bridgestone tires” it could also mean they’re boring… :)
Alex
March 29, 2007 at 12:12 am
I’ve been reading Coolz0r’s marketing / advertising blog for a while now. I was put onto this blog by my mate Ivan who will be starting with Xero soon…