Sitting Pretty
The bathroom situation at music festivals is notoriously bad, but not inside one luxury porta potty at Austin City Limits in Texas in October. The blinged-out bathroom came equipped with amenities such as Wi-Fi, a live feed of the festival, air-conditioning, a phone charger, and a crystal chandelier. A contest awarded 10 passes to the so-called “Golden Porta Potty,” which was indeed painted gold.
Popular Pop-Ups
Brands continue to reinvent the venerable pop-up concept with new, boundary-pushing ideas. One of the most ambitious was Bud Light’s “Whatever, USA” event in September. The activation brought more than 1,000 people to the ski town of Crested Butte, Colorado, where the beer brand hosted a weekend of activities that included daytime hot tub parties, nighttime concerts, and a soapbox derby—all with free beer. In New York, two cafés caught the public’s attention: a recreation of Central Perk, the fictional café from Friends, which celebrated the show’s 20th anniversary and promoted Eight O’Clock Coffee, as well as a cat café from Purina, the first human- and feline-friendly eatery in North America. The activation, which was streamed live for cat lovers worldwide, served drinks such as a “’cat’achino.”
Space Launch
The beauty brand Kiehl’s staged a product launch that literally launched a new men’s moisturizer into space. In June, the company sent up the product into the stratosphere and captured footage on a GoPro camera. A second stunt followed the launch, this time with 3-D-printed action figures of contest winners who wanted their avatars to explore space.
Getting Inked
Reebok tested the devotion of its fans in a wild—and permanent—contest: The person who inked the biggest tattoo of the company’s logo at the Tough Viking obstacle race in Sweden won a one-year sponsorship deal for the fitness craze CrossFit. Nearly 100 people signed up to get tattoos, but news of the stunt spread worldwide.
Cash Grab
A customer loyalty marketing campaign for TD Canada Trust in August surprised people at a special ATM dubbed the “Automated Thanking Machine.” The prizes, which were personalized for specific customers, included a bouquet of flowers, a trip to Disneyland, and the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Toronto Blue Jays game.
