Campaigns I Like: Kidnapped Chicagoan

Some background, for those of you either not in Chicago or those who live here and somehow never take public transit: a new billboard/poster campaign has been showing up around the city (especially on trains and buses) that alludes to a “Kidnapped Chicagoan“, a ransom note and hints about where to find this guy. (Nowhere does it say anything about who created the campaign or what it’s pushing). It also lists the URL, KidnappedChicagoan.com.

A 'Kidnapped Chicagoan' ad on the train

I like the campaign a lot. Why?

It’s different. It’s intriguing because you don’t know who the actual campaign is for, and there’s very little information on the ads themselves (just a URL). There’s something appealing about ads that have some mystery behind them, for a couple of reasons: first, you want to know what is actually going on, because it might be cool, and second (what most people might be a little embarrassed to admit to, but it is nonetheless very real!), you want to be a member of whatever club knows about what “it” is and have the power to decide who you will share this information with. Being behind the figurative velvet rope in a viral marketing campaign is what marketers hope appeals to people, and in this case, I think it’s spot on.

It’s integrated. I like the fact that the website has non-awkward integration of various social media outlets. There’s a foursquare module, Twitter feed and a Google map with various places the kidnapped Chicagoan has been mapped out. Because this campaign is about tracking someone, it makes sense to use those items. When companies force those sorts of initiatives into a campaign, it’s not only weird and off-putting– it screams, “We don’t get it!”

It’s customized. The kidnapped Chicagoan lists his interests as: “thick mustaches, thicker pizza, oversized softballs, tweeting, beer, neon green relish, Da Bears, parking permit stickers, above-ground subways, trixies.” Little elements like that make the site fun to use.

And last but not least- it’s not obnoxious. (Spoiler alert!) The Chicagoan has been taken to St. Louis and the website details his travels there (very robust information with links and reviews of the various places he goes). The campaign itself was created by Hoffman Lewis for the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission. Sure beats the boring “Pure Michigan” tourism ads, no?

An unexpected move, especially for a tourism organization. There’s word that they might be doing similar campaigns for other cities, and I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for any information on them. Kudos!