A tracking device in your undies? Or are you just happy to see me?
The Brazilians have taken tracking devices to deep and dark places!
Unilever’s new campaign for Omo detergent hides GPS devices in 50 two-pound boxes that are activated as soon as shoppers lift the box from the supermarket shelf. Omo’s agency Bullet will “visit” the consumer at home within “a few hours or days” to let them know they won a pocket video camera and a day of fun at a Unilever event.
Does you see this as an invasion of privacy? Is it possible that the tracking devices could end up in the wash…or even my undies? Ha ha!
If a consumer refuses to answer the door for the “visit” (Brazil’s crime rate is quite high), the team will activate the device to buzz, alerting the consumer to the promotion.
The promotion builds on the brand’s international “Dirt is Good” positioning by adding, “Try Something New With Omo.”
The fifty boxes were spread around Brazil in 35 cities and according to Fernando Figueiredo, Bullet’s president, “the nearest team can reach the shopper’s home “within hours or days,” and if they’re really close by, “they may get to your house as soon as you do.” If a box is tracked to an apartment building, the device enables the team to go floor by floor in search of the unwitting consumer.
A dedicated website, experimentealgonovo.com.br (Portuguese for “try something new”) launches in August and will post photos of the winners, their locations, (approximately), and video of the Bullet-Omo teams in pursuit – arriving at unsuspecting consumer’s doors. Some analysts have criticized Unilever and Bullet for pushing the privacy envelope.
“Anything can happen,” commented Figueiredo. “We have to be innovative, but we don’t know what reaction to expect from consumers. It costs more than a traditional promotion and is riskier because it’s never been done before, but it’s worth it. We believe in using new technology for promotional marketing.” Whether this will go down as a successful use of technology or a creepy stalker moment remains to be seen. What’s your take?
Yours in advertising,
Janet
Word courtesy of brandchannel and myopenkimono
