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An insult of a campaign
Thou art sitting in thine office on a cold Monday morning. Deadlines art looming and thine fingers art typing. Laughter drifts through the hallways, but thou art preoccupied with words much like Juliet was preoccupied with love for her Romeo. A brightly coloured jester pops in thou door and insults starts to bubble from his mouth like a witch's broth.
“The most infectious pestilence upon thee!”
A second jester appears and exclaims, “Your bum is the greatest thing about you, so that in the beastliest sense, you are Pompei the Great!”
The client
The Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA)
The brief
Guerrilla Marketing were tasked with reminding the publishing industry of the nearing deadline to enter the MPASA PICA Awards, an annual celebration of excellence in the written word, all the while communicating the changes and ‘refreshments' that the awards have undergone.
The idea
William Shakespeare is arguably the most prominent and impactful writer in our history. Composer of 154 sonnets and more than 38 plays, Shakespeare literally caused a boom in the publishing industry. This legendary and iconic writer is the cornerstone of the 2007 PICA Awards theme, “Much ado about something new”.
In keeping with the general spirit of award ceremonies, the experiential campaign involved a series of criticisms or insults. In Shakespearian tongue, of course
How it worked
The first phase of the campaign was an email strike. Publishers, their associated teams, freelance writers and journalists were all insulted via email over the course of a few days.
The second phase involved two actors, dressed as court jesters, who descended on all major publishing houses in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Working their way from reception to the top floor, they insulted every person that dared to cross their paths. The jester had boards around their necks saying “Transform insults into praise. Enter your best work before 4pm, 1 August 2007. PICA Awards.”
The effect
The jesters grabbed the attention of everyone in the office within seconds. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to get a full view of what was happening. The first insult left them reeling. By the second and third line everyone was laughing. When the jesters ended off with “Turn the insults into praise at the 2007 PICA Awards. Enter your best work now”, the campaign came to full circle, and the link was made.
The result
According to Guerrilla Marketing, massive awareness was created of the nearing PICA Awards, as well as the approaching deadline for entries. The right people were targeted, namely the magazine industry. In addition, the reminder was humorous and engaging, making it all the more powerful and effective.
