Brands Just Wanna Have Fun

High praise to Volkswagen for translating their Brand heritage of “fun” into something real.

This time they’re running a social experiment to see if people would take the stairs more often if it were more fun to do. Apparently, they would. The stunt is a great example of extending brand reach in a non-traditional manner. The event isn’t even branded, which is essential in getting the masses to embrace a movement. The equity in this event has come from the pass-along value and social discussion, where Volkswagen gets credit for defining “fun.” VW’s expression of “Fun Theory” is definitely defining in the auto category, and it’s great to see a big brand actually follow a strategy to its natural conclusion.

I’ve been in dozens of meetings over the years with brands trying to establish their “fun” quotient; mostly candy, soft drinks, salty snacks and booze brands, and none of them bold enough to spend money on it without seeing an immediate sales impact. Aaaah, but the new marketing landscape requires nimble, sneaky approaches for a brand to make an impact, and this is a great example.

Here’s another one: Burger King is sponsoring digg’s 404 error messages with an ad that blames your typo on your tiny hands. Tiny hands are the focus in BK’s advertising right now, so the marriage is strategic, impactful and smart. And sneaky.