How Mr. Glasses guerrilla marketed IT with less than $10,000
The streets of Sydney were filled with red balloons tied to drains last week to promote the upcoming horror movie, IT. Mumbrella’s Abigail Dawson speaks to Chris Campbell, managing director of the agency behind the campaign, to discover how an idea with less than $10,000 behind it made headlines across the country.
Last week saw the lead up to the new horror movie IT, which made a whopping $7.467 million at the box office this weekend.
Experiential agency Mr. Glasses, which opened its Sydney office in April, was given a tight brief from the client: the campaign couldn’t explicitly feature the film’s protagonist, Pennywise the clown.
Great campaign, and very good work.
But was this article written by the agency themselves, instead of by a journalist? There’s an apostrophe missing from a quote, and the grammar is a bit off.
Hi Liza,
I can confirm this article was not written by the agency, but I do apologies for any clunky grammar.
I have tidied this up so hopefully it is a smoother read now.
Thanks,
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Still need an apostrophe here: “…its also very iconic.”
Hi Liza,
You’re absolutely right and it’s now fixed.
Mea culpa,
Paul Wallbank
News editor
“The balloons were the agency’s biggest and only expense for the campaign, costing less than $10,000”.
I gather the street artists were not paid and provided their own paint ? Six murals, three states.
Stencils for street messaging need to be created, staff and transport to install and breakdown/dispose of environmentally all need to be paid for.
This is a great, highly engaging campaign – just feel that that costs v investment are not fully accounted for or communicated – and can potentially create unrealistic expectations for clients.
Hi Ben,
Apologies for the confusion here. I have tidied up the wording in the article so this is more clear.
The artists were paid, but this was a separate part of the campaign. The element we are focusing on – the guerilla street marketing with the balloons, which generated all the headlines and social media chatter – cost less than $10,000.
Apologies this wasn’t clear in the first instance.
Thanks,
Vivienne – Mumbrella
How were the balloons the agency’s biggest and only expense for the campaign if they also contracted six different street artists to paint
six sizable murals?
Hi John,
Apologies for the confusion here. I have tidied up the wording in the article so this is more clear.
The artists were paid, but this was a separate part of the campaign. The element we are focusing on – the guerilla street marketing with the balloons, which generated all the headlines and social media chatter – cost less than $10,000.
Apologies this wasn’t clear in the first instance.
Thanks,
Vivienne – Mumbrella
If the agency were given “strict instructions not to directly feature Pennywise the clown anywhere in its advertising approach” how do they explain the murals featuring Pennywise? – “In a separate part of the campaign, the experiential agency also used six different street artists to paint murals based on their loose interpretations of Pennywise the clown.”
That confused me as well.
Nothing like drawing young kids to play in and around drains…
Not sure how innovative the idea was if you’ve read the book and watched the movie – it’s a no-brainer to feature the balloons given the restrictions.
Bit of a clunky article there mumbrella. Agree with Ben Re: cost. The article gives the impression the whole campaign budget was 10k… Client budget expectations are already cooked beyond belief.
Who thought of it first? Just saying … http://ew.com/movies/2017/09/0.....nsylvania/
This is just a really great campaign. Murals did it for me, but balloons smart too. Reckon that $10k might have stretched to the odd chopper bike too. Or a cheap $100 speaker or two frreaking out pedestrians. “They all float down here…”
Jesus wept. One of the most innovative media campaigns of the year and people are picking holes on apostrophes and the costs of street artists.
As an industry we need to celebrate others success not focus on such negative pedantics.
I think ‘one of the most innovative’ is a bit of a stretch. Cute, maybe.
They’d better watch out for someone even scarier than that clown. When those balloons get away, Clover Moore’s Enviro-Army of anti-fun police will come after them issuing fines. All of their permits thunder the words: “Balloons are not permitted!” Apparently it’s $400 fine per balloon. Don’t mess with Kim Jong-Moore!
feel like if i walked past it i’d assume it was a campaign for Red Balloon.
Ah, good ‘ole 2007.
I trust the people behind this campaign don’t like turtles and other marine life?
Balloons almost always end up in our oceans. Once again the earth is paying just so someone can make a buck. Good on them.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/.....-wildlife/
Did you not read the story?
“We spoke with an environmentalist to make sure the balloons were recovered a couple of hours after they were placed and all the string as well.
“We then recycled them afterwards so there was no backlash,” Campbell notes.
I do not understand how an environmental solves this problem and makes sure they’re all recovered.
But I do like that you have so much faith in humanity. I would expect many would have been set upon by those passing by and ultimately released.
Let’s not get started on the fact that helium is a very rare commodity and crucial for health services. Because then we would be highlighting how irresponsible this campaign was.
How does one recycle rubber baloons and string? I’m stumped.
Removable balloons and murals good, spray painting public footpaths, bad. Footpaths are public space and need to be protected from advertisers, lest all walls and floors be commercialised.
You know advertisers have been doing this for over a decade? As long as its chalk paint, councils don’t care.
What is with the comments on this article? I’ve never seen people so desperate to pick something apart and find flaws.