A yellow metal clamp on a car wheel usually needs no further explanation. The driver knows that a fine, waiting and an expense will follow. These days, some of them on the streets of Dublin also carry a message from Paddy Power, using an unpleasant moment as an introduction to a comedy festival.
There is no classic billboard or purchased advertising space. Instead, the message appears at the very moment when its audience probably needs a laugh the most. The name of the activation also plays with the same situation, as the audience is literally trapped next to a car they cannot move.
The A Captive Audience activation was developed by BBH Dublin, relying on a surface that is almost impossible to ignore when it appears on your own car. Short messages were applied directly to the recognisable yellow clamps, while footage of the marked vehicles and people’s reactions is being shared across the brand’s social channels.
Marcos Gemal, executive creative director at BBH Dublin, explained that Paddy Power always tries to make people laugh, so the team looked for a new media space where it could be certain that everyone would benefit from a little humour.
According to Dean Finn, senior marketing manager at Paddy Power, wheel clamps have never been known for lifting people’s spirits. He believes the activation has done its job if it manages to replace an unpleasant surprise with a laugh, even briefly.
The idea did not stop at the printed messages. People who found the marked cars were also given free tickets to the Paddy Power Comedy Festival. The festival began on 23 July and runs until 26 July at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. The programme brings together international and Irish names from the stand-up scene. The fine and the immobilised car did not disappear, but Paddy Power gave the city’s frustration another function and found advertising space where it usually is not.
