Dodge Daredays
Chrysler
Issue 7 | July 2008
Agency
Proximity BBDO Belgium
Creative Team
Gert Pauwels - Creative Director;Jan De Coster - Online Art Director;Jan De Coster - Offline Art Director;Bout Bolthof - Copywriter;Tom De Block - Copywriter
Production Team
Navajo BBDO - Event Organisation; Jonas Van Gestel - Video Treatment; Matthias Crommelinck - Web Developer; Bert Vermeire - Web Developer
Other Credits
Tony Petermans - Account Manager
Date
September - November 2007
Background
Dodge wanted to introduce the brand name and three new car models to the Belgian market without placing a single ad, without broadcasting a single television commercial and without sending out a single direct mail piece. Since showrooms lost their attraction, the agency chose to bring the showroom to the street, in a never-seen-before way.
Idea
The agency introduced The Dodge Dare Days: a very visible road show that toured 10 Belgian cities with a unique attraction - a 50-metre Dodge Viper Bungee with onboard camera to film the (un)lucky rider’s scared face. These movies were then posted on the campaign site, ready to be sent to friends. Special interactive banners guided people to the website. A contest worked as extra bait.
Results
More than 10,000 people attended one of the 10 road shows, with almost 500 daredevils wetting their pants in the bungee drop. The onboard camera capturing their fearful expressions resulted in 500 viral movies and generated 50,000 views on YouTube and GarageTV. Site traffic boomed, with more than 35,000 unique visitors: over 10% opting-in, 5% requesting more information and 1% visiting the showroom for a test drive. The roadshow also saw free media coverage in newspapers, online car sites and blogs.
Target Audience
Men, aged 20 to 35, show offs and the adrenaline-driven
Our Thoughts
How do you create buzz around a brand that may mean something in the American Midwest but sod all in downtown Brussels? Create the world’s first-ever car bungee plunge and film the suckers who took the ride so you have an online experience as well as a branded event. The analogy is immediate. Vertical line acceleration used to describe horizontal line performance. Nice.