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Newsletter #1033: The “Ridiculous Ideas” Issue

[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

It’s important to test new things, try stuff out, and push the boundaries of what you can do with your marketing. You won’t always come out with a winner, but sometimes you just might think of something so ridiculous that it works.

Here are three examples of ridiculous stuff that turned out to be great ideas:

1. 200-dozen donuts
2. Carrying strangers
3. A book tank
4. Check it out: 3D Sculpting

1. 200-dozen donuts

Last year, Krispy Kreme UK delivered a box of 200-dozen donuts to a job resourcing company’s office in Wales. The 11×3-foot box required eight people to carry it and a big distribution truck to deliver it. They did it to announce Krispy Kreme’s new donut delivery service for weddings and corporate events — and for something as mundane as a new service, they earned a lot of word of mouth.

The lesson: Could they have just delivered 200 regular Krispy Kreme boxes? Probably. But delivering a ton of donuts isn’t newsworthy. Delivering a donut box that three people can fit into turned their new service into a news story.

Learn more: Slate

2. Carrying strangers

When 39 escalators in a Stockholm subway station were out of order, Reebok outfitted a troupe of athletes from a local crossfit gym in their gear and sent them to offer to physically carry commuters up the stairs. They also helped carry their bags, babies, and strollers — but the real spectacle was seeing strangers being slung over another stranger’s shoulder up a broken escalator.

The lesson: That was some quick thinking on Reebok’s part. They took a negative situation in a crowded place with a captive audience and turned it into an opportunity to do something lighthearted and fun.

Learn more: Adweek

3. A book tank

When you think about how to promote World Book Day, you probably think of the usual suspects — like librarians, teachers, and book stores — as the best promoters. But for World Book Day in Argentina, 7UP commissioned artist Raul Lemesoff to build one of his infamous “weapons of mass instruction,” a car converted into a mobile library shaped like a tank. Raul then drove the tank around urban areas and schools handing out the 900 books shelved on the outside of the car.

The lesson: A library shaped like a tank catches people off guard, causes a scene, and gets people to gather around. That reaches a new audience that a typical World Book Day promotion might not reach.

Learn more: Colossal

4. Check it out: 3D Sculpting

This web-based 3D sculpting app lets you manipulate an object using a bunch of crazy graphic design tools. We’re not exactly sure how to use them all, but it’s still fun to mess around with and create weird shapes.

Check it out: 3D Sculpting

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