David Beckham Underwear
So here I am walking through Union Square in San Francisco over the weekend (on a beautifully sunny day), and I see this LONG line of people waiting in front of a silver statue snapping pictures with their smart phones. As a long time observer of consumer behavior, I just had to check it out. Turns out the statue was none other than David Beckham in his tightey-whities from H&M.
If you snap a picture with him and post it to Instagram, you get money off your purchase at H&M. And if you buy said tightey-whities, you get even more money off your purchase.
I will say I resisted the temptation, mostly because I've already got my brand of choice shall we say. But it did get me investigating this little promotion which turns out has been causing quite the stir. There were 9 of these statuettes placed in markets around the country, all to generate buzz and sales.
I appears to be working if the "worn spot" on the underwear is any indication on this larger than life statue. Speaking of which, I'm not sure why they didn't make him life size ... that would have made for a far more interesting photo opp, if you ask me. I'm just sayin'.
What's your experience? Jim
Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe North America
Author, The Experience Effect series
Professor, NYU