Philips Bear Ad Goes Viral for the Wrong Reasons

Having an ad go viral on new and social media is any advertising agency’s dream. However, for The Secret Little Agency who came up with the video clip of an ad showing a bear rummaging through a dustbin at a bus stop at Ulu Pandan, it became more of a nightmare.

The agency’s tagline “We are in the business of creating exceptional advertising” could not be more apt when it hit upon guerilla marketing tactics of using a bear to advertise Phlips electronics new razor.  The clip first appeared on Youtube, and it was even mentioned in mainstream news, which of course helped to fuel the general public’s fear and curiosity.

Fearing for the safety of people living around the Ulu Pandan area, the police, volunteers from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) and zoo personnel combed the area for signs of the bear. Obviously, they are not amused to learn that the whole incident is one marketing ploy. The video has also gone viral not because of its link to the razor but due to the bad press it has received. No one made the link between the bear and the razor and the agency has come under fire for its tactics and the police are even probing if the video clip has violated public nuisance laws.  But then again, in the world of advertising, is there such a thing as bad publicity?

The other time there was a guerilla advertising tactic gone bad was the one by SingPost where the postal boxes in Singapore were apparently defaced!

Advertisers and advertising agencies will need to think twice before they start such campaigns again.

A more engaging and memorable bear ad would be this one by Tippex! Enjoy!