Hasta La Creative!

Remember back in the day when a reporter would be admonished or even fired for not being the first to cover a breaking news? Well, the times have changed. An outdoor campaign by Stuff.co.nz boasts “if our team don’t break stories first, there are consequences.” Consequences, indeed (and not for the copy editors!). One of its billboards has a tomato-pelted reporter strapped to it, while another features a reporter being dangled out of a window from high above with a banner below him featuring the same line.

This kind of reminds me of a “Saturday Night Live” skit in the 70’s that depicted a bunny with a gun to its head and the tagline, “buy this (whatever) or the bunny gets it.”

Sure, humor is a fantastic motivator and will, in this case, drive traffic to the Web, but what I love about this campaign is that it raises the bar for creative. It’s not mirroring pop culture – it’s creating it, which is what Stuff does perfectly on its website, too.

Sara Barton is a copywriter, social media strategist, and avid blogger who is in search of her next opportunity. Contact her via Twitter, LinkedIn, or her blog.