Viral marketing or not? You decide

This week an advert appeared above Des Kelly furniture shop in Phibsboro, a suburb of Dublin.

One of my students brought it up in class as coincidentally we were talking about the fourth marketing  ‘P’ - promotion. And of course, advertising is one element of the promotional mix.

It caught our attention for a number of reasons:

1. Des Kelly is claiming that it has nothing to do with them

2. When you call the number, it plays a bad rendition of ‘You’ve got a friend’

3. I’ve been told that if a mini gets a flat tyre, it doesn’t need changing straight-away; it has some technology in the tyre that allows you to drive with a flat tyre (unconfirmed!)

4. The boys in the class thought that the mini referred to the girls dress rather than make of car.

If it is a viral advert, it’s a pretty good one. Des Kelly branding is all over it - the shop, the clock above the advert and the vans outside.

Des Kelly - if it is yours, claim it and pat yourself on the back for a piece of marketing genius. If it isn’t yours, then that’s a shame but as the old adage goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity, eh?

What do you think?

(Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland via broadsheet.ie)