Creative Marketing From The Swedes

A recent string of articles I have been coming across and writing about illustrate that as human beings information isn’t always enough. Just because we are presented with all the facts and reasons we should behave a certain way does not mean we will do so. Check out this article on Coolbusinessideas.com.

We all know taking the bus is better for the environment. Why don't all of us take the bus then? Part of it is convenience. Yes, but I know there are times where we could take the bus and we don't. Is it because we aren't inspired to take the bus? Well one Swedish company is trying to do just that; to inspire us to utilize their service which in turn lets us live the story of being environmentally conscious.

Swedish advertising company, Acne, put together a rather eye-catching advertising campaign for Flygbussarna, an airport coach bus service, to inspire individual car drivers to take the coach bus instead. An installation made up of 50 wrecked cars resembling a Flygbussarna coach bus was placed next to the highway leading to the Swedish airport. Acne used 50 cars to emphasize that a coach bus can seat up to 50 people whereas, on average, an individual car has only 1.2 people. Consider that with the fact that a coach bus releases no more carbon than 4 cars. The campaign also included a website where visitors could watch cars whizz past the installation. The website tracked the number of cars that drove by and how much carbon could have been saved if those drivers had taken a bus instead.

This isn't Green Peace. I am not pushing an aggressive radical environmental agenda. The point of the post is to illustrate remarkable marketing that goes beyond paying for a 30 second TV spot or a full page ad in a magazine. These traditional advertising methods continue to have less and less leverage as the world continues to become more interconnected. Instead of pushing the same status quo message this Swedish ad agency did something worth taking about. They showed environmental impact visually and created a story worth spreading. Very impressive!