PARTNERSHIP MARKETING from around the world part 7
How partnership promotions go wrong could be the headline for this next partnership. The mighty Procter & Gamble is in the dock because it unwisely indulged in a sales promotion in Rio de Janeiro which involved leaving mystery packing cases all over the place to intrigue consumers, who would have found that they were full of goodies. Unfortunately the authorities in trigger-happy Rio thought they were full of bombs. The bomb squad was summoned after panicked residents called the police to report two large wooden crates abandoned in public squares in the upscale Ipanema beach area of Rio de Janeiro. The city of six million people was already on edge after days of fighting between violent drug gangs and heavily-armed police with armored military vehicles left at least 23 dead.
The suspect crates were intended to be a teaser promotion for P&G’s biggest-ever sweepstakes in Brazil, called “P&G Faustão’s Airplane,” with multiple drawings to be held on the Sunday afternoon variety show hosted by Fausto Silva, Brazil’s most popular TV host. Six lucky winners will each win the equivalent of an airplane full of more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including two cars (a Chevrolet Meriva and a Ford Ecosport), bars of gold, everything needed to fully outfit an entire home (including an iPod shuffle and an HP netbook, Disney puzzles and Sesame Street stuffed animals) and of course multiple P&G products. The website for the promotion features a plane on a runway surrounded by cars, motorcycles, every imaginable household appliance — and a big wooden crate emblazoned with pictures of P&G products like Head & Shoulders, Ariel detergent, Oral-B toothpaste and Gillette deodorant and razors. The wooden crates became a symbol for marketing the promotion, and the idea of placing them in unexpected spots around Rio and other cities was intended to show that Faustão’s Airplane is so full of prizes that some are even falling from the sky. Rio’s bomb squad closed off surrounding streets in Ipanema, opened the two crates and found them to be empty. The police put out a statement saying no explosives had been found. Funnily enough P&G quickly canceled plans to distribute more mystery wooden crates but still continued with the promotion. Presumably the brand partners including all American brands Ford, Disney and Sesame Street were fine with the bomb association! It appears to be a stunt for the sake of doing a stunt without any thought or strategy in mind as to why they should be doing it.
