March 21, 2024
What We Did This Summer: Good Conduct in NYC
by Rob Lewis
Manhattanites were served up one-of-a-kind experiences
What We Did This Summer is a series for Indie Agency News members to share what they did during the season. Members can learn more here.
“Only in New York” is a phrase most people who have spent time there have uttered when coming across a nude street performer, an incredible secret experience behind a dilapidated entryway, or fashion that looks like it came from outer space.
Usually, those ‘only in New York’ moments are packaged and delivered by the one-of-a-kind citizens of the eclectic city itself—causing the tourists to gawk and locals to sigh deeply.
What did we do this summer? Two memorable activations imported from Denver created outrageous NYC memories for a couple of our brave CPG clients in the alcohol space.
The first, created for New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger, targeted local socialites and encouraged them to let loose over a cup of tea.
The stunt utilized a familiar tactic of pulling the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting consumers only to reveal a product’s benefit later on—like they’re eating a steak from a grocery store or the wine from a bag.
But this time around, the tactic had a much more exciting reveal. For the activation itself, the team built out an elegantly decorated tea room called Chez Vaudou in the trendy SOHO neighborhood, taking reservations for afternoon tea. Tea enthusiasts quickly reserved a table for the three services set for the grand opening and showed up wearing their Sunday best.
Things at the service quickly took a turn when the servers delivered not tea to the tables but an assortment of tools, weapons and sporting equipment.
Confusion quickly turned to mayhem as guests were encouraged to destroy their tea sets, and a heavy metal guitar player disrupted the pleasant elevator music. All this was done to show people “how hard tea can party” with Voodoo Ranger’s new 7% Hardcharged Tea.
How did the people react? Check out the recap video below to find out.
A month later, the team was back in Lower Manhattan with another immersive experience for the growing RTD brand, The Finnish Long Drink.
This time, socialites weren’t the only ones invited to participate in the fun. Any 21+ passerby was assaulted by three visually disruptive live window displays featuring a working Finnish sauna, cold plunge, and Finnish cottage experience, all inhabited by an immersive actor.
People were invited to not just look in on the speedo-sporting Nordic adonis hosting the Sauna but also to join him by entering the windows and experiencing each room firsthand. Dubbed ‘The Happiness Portal, ’ the stunt played on the infamous flashing of Ireland that happened through ‘The Portal’ with signs announcing that “This is portal where disrobing is kind of the point.” And disrobe they did.
For three days, hundreds lined up to escape the rat race, get a ‘Taste of Finland’ and explore their exhibitionist proclivities. While passersby looked on locals and tourists alike donned Long Drink swimwear as they sweated through the traditional Sauna, tested their mettle in the cold plunge and relaxed in the traditional Finnish cottage life (or mökkielämä) with a Finnish Long Drink.
Beyond just baring most to onlookers on the street, the room was live-streamed to a custom website built for the activation.
Rob Lewis is Good Conduct’s founder and ECD. These Indie Agency News members are based in Denver.
Original arcticle here