A Melbourne event and promotions company had fans screaming on the red carpet of the Logie Awards this week when they concocted a guerrilla marketing stunt that saw an impersonated pop star steal the limelight for M&M candies.
By Gwen O’Toole
A Melbourne promotion company had fans screaming on the red carpet of the 2009 TV Week Logie Awards this week when they concocted a guerrilla marketing stunt that saw an impersonated pop star steal the limelight for M&M candies.
M&M characters and Lady Gaga before storming the
Logie Awards red carpet in an ambush marketing stunt
Logie Awards red carpet in an ambush marketing stunt
Melbourne-based Our Boys and Girls executed their first guerrilla marketing technique when a gold Hummer pulled up to the red carpet containing a very convincing impersonator of pop star Lady Gaga and two M&M’s characters.
The entourage of security bouncers, fake paparazzi and promo staff handing out free packets of M&M’s to screaming fans was organised in less than 48 hours, according to Our Boys and Girls spokesperson Peter Bauld, who received a number of phone calls from journalists wanting to know if the the prank was ‘for real’.
“In the lead up to the stunt, the fans waiting for their favourite celebrities to arrive at The Logies were pretty excited,” he said.
“Lots of screams, lots of photos. But it wasn’t until Lady Gaga rolled up in her stretched gold Hummer that the crowd went completely insane; screaming, yelling, jumping up and down, a million camera flashes went off simultaneously. Even the celebs turned around to see what was happening. Fair to say, The Logies were brought to a standstill.”
The ambush lasted for about two minutes — just long enough to jump out, hand over merchandise, jump back into the awaiting Hummer and drive off. Bauld said the promotion team had a long day of briefings and rehearsals to ensure the stunt went off without a hitch.
Watch the event as it happened by clicking here.
The Logie Awards were held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino complex on Sunday (May 3).
