A good idea gets copied. A great idea infects like the plague, multiplying like rabbits on crack.
The creatives behind Improv Everywhere are the masters of guerrilla marketing. It was cool enough when they got 200 people at to pose for Frozen Grand Central Station in New York to freeze in their tracks for five solid minutes, but now they've inspired people in 42 other cities to do the same.
The video above shows the Vancouver Freeze at the Vancouver Art Gallery on February 23rd, 2008. Over 100 people participated.
Since it was posted on January 31, 2008, the video has received 9,360,445 views on YouTube alone. The project received so much buzz, the idea became highly infectious, inspiring people in 42 cities to host their own freeze events in 24 countries.
"Thousands of Global Agents worldwide in places like Romania, Poland, Italy, China, Sweden, and New Zealand have come together to make time stop for five short minutes," Improv Everywhere says.
Improv Everywhere has links to each of the videos on their site.
Meanwhile, here are a few of video responses from my favourite cities:
Los Angeles
Paris
Zurich, main subway station
The Original in New York
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Guerrilla Marketing
- The success of Improv Everywhere's viral video responses demonstrates the potential of guerrilla marketing to create buzz and attract attention.
- Viral Video Campaigns
- Improv Everywhere's viral video responses highlight the power of creative and innovative viral video campaigns to reach a global audience.
- Participatory Events
- The popularity of Improv Everywhere's city-wide freeze events exemplifies the potential of participatory events to engage and involve large groups of people.
Where This Applies
- Advertising
- Improv Everywhere's success in creating a viral campaign through guerrilla marketing techniques presents disruptive innovation opportunities for the advertising industry.
- Entertainment
- The potential for creative and engaging participatory events highlighted by Improv Everywhere's success suggests disruptive innovation opportunities within the entertainment industry.
- Marketing
- The success of Improv Everywhere's viral campaigns provides disruptive innovation opportunities for the marketing industry to create memorable and impactful campaigns that resonate with audiences.
