25/2/2004 - Entry #86
Continuing the advertising theme...
Please step forward, Cole, Russell and Pryce, a Stockholm-based ad agency who created the most stupidly unnecessary (and therefore wonderful and commendable) advert campaign ever.
The campaign consisted of, at first, an e-mail sent to 500 friends and clients with an attached photograph of a cute and adorable baby lamb, with the company's website written beneath and a message telling the reader to visit "for the sake of the lamb."
The next day, 90 of those initial recipients received a second e-mail with another photograph, this time depicting the lamb with one hoof hacked off.
So far, a little iffy, but not too terrible, right? Sadly, CR&P had grander ideas, and at the same time as the second e-mails went out, 12 carefully selected individuals received a package delivered to their office. Contained within was one very real, very bloody, severed lamb hoof.
When the tradepress reported the unusual campaign, opinion was mixed. Some loved it, and some hated it, as you'd expect. Again, sadly for CR&P, most of their clients fell into the latter camp. Not least two of their major clients, Vodafone and, the real kicker, Djurens Rätt, a Swedish animal rights organisation. Suddenly the campaign seems poorly chosen...
Both companies asked to meet with CR&P, with Vodafone saying "we wondered if something like that might happen again, and how the agency could assure us that it wouldn't." It turns out that the assurance they gave was to fire their founder and creative director, Olles Sjödén, effective immediately. Well, certainly one way of fixing it.
I think it's a slight shame that the stunt backfired on them a bit, but they really did bring it on themselves. I love risky adverts like this, and especially any campaign that goes above and beyond the call of duty, becoming elaborate and interesting. But in this case, the choice of medium given their animal rights organisation client was always going to be more trouble than it was worth. Furthermore, I have to say that the website they were advertising in the first place, isn't even all that good. Of their global sites, only the Stockholm one works, and even though that one is in Swedish, you can still tell that it isn't exactly brimming with features or information. I just get the feeling this was something of a waste, since there's so little to actually advertise, and it was only even directed to, ultimately, 12 individuals. Still, I do like unconventional advertising like this, for the most part. It's just a shame that the concept/intent didn't really match up to the amount of effort they put into it.
Please sign the Guestbook. For the love of God, sign it now.