The Fun Theory

Forget the Message, Show Me the Fun

DDB Stockholm (on Volkswagen’s behalf) has launched a series of “experiments” that are captured on video to test if making the world more fun will change people’s behaviors. This is called “The Fun Theory.”

The Fun Theory

The Fun Theory is an attempt to entice people to change their perceptions and behaviors by encountering fun ways to act environmentally responsible. The ultimate objective is to get these people to realize (and act upon) the idea that driving environmentally friendly cars is a pleasurable and feel-good endeavor.

The series of fun events include:

• Making a set of stairs into “piano keys”
• A recycle bin turned into an arcade game
• Using sound effects (cartoon-like) when people throw trash into a special receptacle

Experiencing the Message

What does this have to do with selling cars? Absolutely nothing and everything. This isn’t a about selling cars. It is about associating a name (VW) with fun and personally rewarding activities. In the "piano keys" stairs experiment, 66% of the people observed during the allowed time frame chose the stairs over the escalator.

The activities experienced firsthand by the people in the videos and those millions of people experiencing the activities secondhand through watching the videos. (The “piano keys” stairs alone has over 1 million viewers on youtube.com.) At the end of each video is a small “VW” emblem. Very subtle yet it is associated with an enjoyable moment.

The brilliance of this campaign is the fact that these people are being pre-conditioned to accept VW’s new BlueMotion Technologies brand which tout mobility and sustainability. They will have "learned" that contributing to sustainability of resources (take the stairs, recycle, etc) is fun. They are a part of a "tribe" of sorts that is like-minded in the pursuit of "saving" the planet through their actions. The brilliance lies in the fact that these people may not ever had taken that first step to joining the tribe if it hadn't been for the fun factor associated with this campaign.

*"Piano Keys Stairs" image found on Mashable(mashable.com/2009/10/11/the-fun-theory/)