When European Rail Experts, Voyages-SNCF.com, wanted to get people talking about a new online deal they turned traditional billboard advertising into an experiential marketing extravaganza. Their ‘Les Instants V’ offer allows travellers to book train tickets at the same time that they book tickets for events and attractions – making it easy and quick to get closer to the things they love doing.
Voyages-SNCF.com set up some larger-than-life billboards in Paris to show lots of different forms of entertainment people can enjoy by booking with them online. Museums, operas, sporting events, and more, were brought to life in a surreal pop-up experience.
The 3D billboards included a gigantic opera singer’s mouth belting out melodies, a super-sized Marilyn Monroe skirt and a rugby player lathering up in the shower. A bus shelter was even transformed into a Saturday Night Fever style disco – complete with disco ball and hairy chest.
As you can imagine, the billboards sparked some great reactions from passers-by in Paris:
This brilliant experiential campaign required nearly 1,000 tons of silicon to create a realistic skin texture for the opera singer and rugby player, 70 metres of fabric for Marilyn’s white dress and even real animal hair for Travolta’s chest.
Voyages-SNCF also went one step further and encouraged online interaction with the use of a hashtag #JamaisÉtéAussiProcheDe (#NeverBeenSoCloseTo). This tied in nicely with the campaign message that ‘Les Instants V’ gets you closer than ever to your passions; whether it’s sport, opera or disco that floats your boat.
This innovative, experiential campaign from the French company proves that outdoor, ambient marketing is still relevant today. And there’s plenty of life left in the world’s oldest advertising and marketing medium.
Hotcow is a non-traditional creative agency that specialises in experiential marketing that goes viral. Our campaigns generate buzz through crowd participation, PR and content sharing. Contact us on 0207 5030442 or email us on info@hotcow.co.uk.
