Prev
Next

Cash mobs aren’t so flash

Daniel Piotrowski

by Daniel Piotrowski

09 Feb 05:50am

Must Reads

Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this? - this is a caption

Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this?

23

A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport - this is a caption

A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport

83

Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time - this is a caption

Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time

103

Filed under: Business, Flash Mobs, Marketing, Media, Occupy Wall Street

48 comments

For a moment in the mid-naughties, they were the coolest of all cool social media-fuelled meme-thingos.

What a coincidence! The entire mob is wearing Milo T-shirts!

I’m talking about flash mobs, the groups of strangers who gather in a public place to do something like dance a routine, freeze in a contorted pose or smack someone over the head with a pillow. At their best, flash mobs, which are typically organised through social media, are flickers of spontaneity, bursts of community in CBDs filled with busy suits.

In recent years though, they’ve become a whole lot less cool. That’s because they’ve been gatecrashed by another crew: the cash mob.

The cash mob being companies like Doritos, Dell, Milo, Kylie Minogue’s management and even the shopping centre down the road from The Punch’s Sydney bureau. All of them have employed the flash mob as a marketing tool in the past few years.

It has become a key part of their corporate marketing arsenal, genius marketing heads obviously thinking that the flash mob is a way to promote their awesome new product as something “hip”, “young” and “spontaneous”.

Companies spend ages preparing to hold a flash mob in Martin Place or Federation Square or Rundle Mall. They send out press releases weeks in advance, hire choreographers and professional dancing troupes and deploy company multimedia staff. Their teams think up a narrative for how the flash mob will promote the product to gawkers. All in the hope the video will go “viral” when it’s chucked up on YouTube.

The thing is, what’s awesome about the flash mob in its purest form is that they have no real purpose beyond a few spontaneous pranksters enjoying themselves. Their objective is just plain fun. The cash mob flash mobs betray the authentic ethos that the entire concept of a flash mob is based up on: you shouldn’t, after all, have to buy happiness in a tin of Milo.

It’s interesting to think about what the rise of the flash mob and the cash mob says about us as a people. How many Australians would take to the streets over something that’s not a whole lot of fun, or for something that they’re not getting paid for?

The same technologies that enable the flash mob and its mutant marketing offspring have sparked a fledging movement for fairness and democracy throughout the Arab World.

Taking to the streets means fighting for a cause, for a better way of life.

But for us, it means having fun and making money. All in a flash.

We should be so lucky. And you don’t need a cliche viral video campaign to tell you that.

dan@thepunch.com.au

Most commented

431Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
352Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer
267Who murdered the Arts degree?
242Abbott's crass logic: trash the Parliament in order save it
223The world puzzles over Australia's Prime Minister
187Punch on: Open thread 25/05/2012
182Schapelle has done her time

48 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Craig says:

      05:26am | 09/02/12

      Essentially any human behaviour that gets adopted and ‘improved’ (perverted) by advertisers and marketers seeking to make a buck becomes disgusting very fast.

      Whether it is a flash mob, threatening to kill off their iconic image or wearing large red body parts, they are a massive turn-off to consumers.

      While memorable, they cheapen organisations and damage long-term brand value.

      However as society becomes more and more anxious only about the next ‘hit’ and executives are judged not on their track record but on their brief highs, the practice is unlikely to go away any time soon.

      Reply

    • MatLon says:

      05:27am | 09/02/12

      Bill Hicks already summed it up:

      “By the way, if anyone here is in marketing or advertising…kill yourself. Thank you. Just planting seeds, planting seeds is all I’m doing.”

      Reply

    • Mr Pod says:

      09:18am | 09/02/12

      While other comedians give amusing views of life from different and amusing angles, Hicks looked straight ahead, wiped the sh!t from your eyes and revealed how it really is. 
      None better - RIP Bill Hicks

    • Nathan says:

      06:46am | 09/02/12

      What a surprise the creative genesis Advertising agencies are not that creative at all. Give them a whiteboard and they could go all day coming up with ideas that are only cool to them and get annoyed when the clients reject them.

      Reply

    • Adam Ferrier says:

      06:59am | 09/02/12

      From a consumer perspective Advertising at its best creates culture people enjoy being a part of, at it’s worst it takes a part of culture people enjoy and destroys it.

      From an advertisers perspective this difference is becoming increasingly important, and linked to sales as consumers voice their approval or otherwise.

      Reply

    • murray says:

      07:27am | 09/02/12

      I always thought the original inspiration behind flash mobs was people who desperately wanted other people to look at them.

      Reply

    • PsychoHyena says:

      09:32am | 09/02/12

      @murray, in some situations yes, in others though it was designed to instil some fun in the atmosphere. I have seen some done really well and their “audience” thought it was brilliant. You can tell the ones that are out for themselves and the ones that are out to have some fun.

    • James Stoltz says:

      08:15am | 09/02/12

      Real cash mobs do not mix with flash mobs they are the working class equivlent of a Goat.
      Cash mobs want to be different from the plebs thats why we have money.

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      09:02am | 09/02/12

      Because your making millions aren’t you. Your just another tool of the marketing brigade. Any sellout can attempt to justify their actions but never in my life have i met a “dancer” or an out of work “actor” driving around in anything other than a beat up rust bucket.

    • andrew says:

      09:48am | 09/02/12

      Tim, you use the term sellout as if making money from a skill set is a bad thing…

      for the record i am no dancer, actor or work in advertising - i just hate the term sellout. smile

    • I, Claudia says:

      11:54am | 09/02/12

      You’d think a patrician (I’m assuming that your derogatory reference to “the plebs” is a desperate attempt to convince us of your supposed nobility) would have parents who saw the value of having their son educated.

      ...I’ve never seen a person I’d consider noble working in the marketing industry, BTW.

    • Rose says:

      12:02pm | 09/02/12

      It must suck to be a performer, artist, musician or actor etc. You get accused of either being a sell-out (how dare you make a living from your craft) or you get accused of being an arty-farty bludger who should stop sucking on the taxpayer’s teat (how dare you not make a living from your craft).
      Can you judgemental, self-righteous defenders of all that is good and true please make your bloody minds up?

    • Rob T says:

      08:23am | 09/02/12

      Last week in Bourke Street mall there were approx. 10 people having sex as part of a safe-sex message ‘flash mob’. The police were there but said that since they were not exposing themselves (they were under blankets) then there is nothing to be done. I didn’t mind, but it would be hard to explain for a child. However, I did see a lady wiping a substance of her face but could not say what it was.

      Reply

    • glm says:

      01:01pm | 09/02/12

      That is disgusting , maybe the substance was a tear, as a result of the loss of self respect.

    • Peter S says:

      04:41pm | 09/02/12

      I think I saw this as well, but one of the men was actually taken by the police and put in a van. The mob were talking rather loudly to the police and then the man took off his blanket and he was sporting an erection, and this is the moment the police covered him up and took him away… This takes ‘flash mob’ to another level.

    • James Shaw says:

      08:27am | 09/02/12

      Don’t kid yourself dude, flash mob participants were lame @ss attention seekers. There was nothing cool about it. Haha I remember seeing one in Martin Place and it was like a dog’s breakfast with only about 15 participants. It was about the most cringe worthy thing I have ever seen.

      At least this ‘cash mob’ you refer to have a purpose and are being productive.

      Reply

    • Rose says:

      11:24am | 09/02/12

      There is absolutely nothing lame about this flash-mob http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k
      An awesome idea executed perfectly! I absolutely would have loved to have been there.

    • Stewart says:

      08:31am | 09/02/12

      What a pathetic, self indulgent jerk-off of a piece.  Elitist wankers like Mr. Piotrowski will find fault in anything provided it gives them a chance to engage in a pathetic rant like the one above.  So what if marketeers have adopted the idea.  Its the way the world works.  If it makes somes one smile, or heaven forbid, laugh, who cares if they are wearing a corporate logo.

      Reply

    • dancan says:

      10:46am | 09/02/12

      “This message brought to you by coke”

    • Henry says:

      08:33am | 09/02/12

      How about a flash mob that is anti-ad? Maybe a 100 people throwing milo tins into an industrial crusher.

      Reply

    • Erin says:

      11:08am | 09/02/12

      Henry - when there is a brand involved - even if it is being destroyed, it is still marketing…..

    • Wickerman says:

      08:40am | 09/02/12

      In the modern world, small yet successful trends will get adopted by large companies to be used for their selfish means. In music, “underground” genres like grunge & goth become mainstream. Record companies saw there was a market for alienated/alternative tastes so started pumping out bands. In politics stuff like GetUp & the USA Tea Party are real grassroots initially, but then used by well-funded self-interested entities.

      Real flash mobs were inoffensive yet curious, corporate ones are just sad. I suspect (& hope) people see through them, & therefore punish that company/brand by avoiding the product.

      Reply

    • Sandra Simmons says:

      08:41am | 09/02/12

      To Rob T above, I saw this so-called flash mob while I was eating my lunch but I would think they had absolutely no intention of promoting the safe-sex message but rather were looking to get off from having sex in a public place. From where I was sitting I could actually catch glimpses of one mans penis every time he thrust his hips back & the police did in the end talk to them and then the flash-mob departed.

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      10:17am | 09/02/12

      Gee, you must’ve been looking pretty closely! Can’t have been good for the digestion.

    • AdamC says:

      08:52am | 09/02/12

      “It’s interesting to think about what the rise of the flash mob and the cash mob says about us as a people. “

      No it isn’t. The flash mob fad was a silly, semi-popular diversion for under-employed proto-hipsters that attracted more interest from the media than from the public. The ‘cash mob’ technique is simply a manifestation of the age-old imperative for second-line marketing types to take stuff they wrongly assume is cool and authentic and co-opt it - normally unsuccessfully - to flog boring crap. 

      Seriously, I think I chose the wrong career. (Well, not that I really chose my career. It was more a series of horrible mistakes, but I digress.) Imagine, I could have worn dark jeans and a suit jacket to work, (not to mention an open-collared shirt that shows off my luxuriant chest hair) got drunk at lunchtime without being judged harshly and earned the big bucks for coming up with ideas like KFC’s ‘snickometer’ or the jingle ‘down, down, prices are staying down’. Some people have all the luck!

      Reply

    • James1 says:

      09:50am | 09/02/12

      Dammit.  I was feeling good about my job until I read this.

    • SimonFromLakemba says:

      02:52pm | 09/02/12

      Jealousy is a curse.

    • Scotchfinger says:

      08:58am | 09/02/12

      i think Naomi Klein has written the definitive essay on this topic with ‘No Logo’. The practice of branding should come as a surprise to no-one who has read this book.

      Reply

    • Trevor says:

      03:26pm | 09/02/12

      To coin a term: slogo.

      Naomi rocks too btw.

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      09:13am | 09/02/12

      Hi Daniel,

      I just wanted to know if we can get the Milo t-shirts & drinks for free? Milo happens to be my favourite drink of all time FYI! But really Sydney is so far & removed from the Arab World, especially in your corner of the world. Why is it so troubling for you in so many ways anyway?

      I also wanted to say that because of very dedicated & honest people like you working on the Punch, we will miss out on the freebies such as packets of Doritos, Milo t-shirts and so much more!  By the way, all this could be a way of having fun & should it really be taken it all so seriously? 

      You can also not deny the fact that the very presence of TV cameras might actually have something to do with. This could be our chance to be famous but still not so wealthy just the same as always.

      Because some people really & truly like the idea of getting something for free.  Lets also not forget the people in power of advertising in all this.  It works like a charm. We also have to admit the fact that we live in a very commercial & material world.  Money, well in this case no money actually makes the world go around!  Kind regards to your editors.

      Reply

    • Brad says:

      09:19am | 09/02/12

      News Ltd when you stop making money off advertising to me, then you have a right to bag the others. Until then please shut up.

      Reply

    • andrew says:

      09:51am | 09/02/12

      Brad, i understand your comment in context with the article but news ltd need to make money somehow.  they aint making money from selling newspapers anymore and since you are not paying to read these articles, perhaps you could pay to read the article…. until then please shut up?

    • Em says:

      09:59am | 09/02/12

      PREEEEEECISELY.

    • Biggles says:

      09:29am | 09/02/12

      Flash mobbing is old hat, proved by advertising agency executives thinking it is the thing to do, it is the metric that says Flash Mobbing is dead.  The originals were brilliant because it was a great idea and it able to be executed with surprise and joy. It is no longer a surprise and the joy replaced with uncomfortable cringing.  This has nothing to do with The Flush Mob (a group of acoustic musicians that ambush public toilets with song) who are still OK.

      Reply

    • A Different Rosie says:

      09:57am | 09/02/12

      ‘The Flush Mob (a group of acoustic musicians that ambush public toilets with song)’

      Thank you Biggles, you’ve just made my day.

    • Em says:

      09:44am | 09/02/12

      The best flash mobs worth looking at on Yuotube…

      T-Mobile UK’s flashmob dance at Liverpool train station. 

      T-Mobile UK’s “Welcome Home” flash mob where all the singers were at Heathrow airport serenading the arrivals in.

      Oprah’s opening show for her last season with the Black Eyed Peas.  The entire audience on the street was involved and it looked AWESOME.

      The flashmob at Antwerp train station in Belgium for The Sound of Music.

      Yep, sure, it’s a cashmob set-up in all of these but it was great for the onlookers and the people involved had fun too. The sheer organisation involved to make these things awesome is what kills most amateur mobs.

      Though seriously, why poo-poo the idea?  Watching all of the above brings a smile to my face and everyone else I’ve shown loves them too. I don’t care if it’s advertising and bringing in revenue. It’s fun to watch.

      Reply

    • Dave says:

      09:58am | 09/02/12

      Some more (or any) specific examples of failed cash mobs would have given this article a whole lot more weight and credibility.  Even the file photo used for the article seems more like a publicity shot, as there are no people in any of the adjacent seats.  As it is, all this article sounds like is “you know those things…those things people do…. I dont like them”

      Reply

    • C Bomb says:

      11:02am | 09/02/12

      Yeah I don’t really know how many non-advertising based flashmobs really made a difference in the world.
      Recycling awareness? For real?
      At least with the advertisers it’s actually doing something. It’s advertising a product/serve. Whether this is a good or bad thing is open to debate, but all I know is if the “real” flashmobs spent all the time choreographing, planning, making outfits,etc and put into a real cause, then maybe you’d have an argument. 
      But since when did picking up rubbish, feeding the homeless or helping disabled people make for a good youtube clip?

      Reply

    • Jason Todd says:

      10:54pm | 09/02/12

      There is one on youtube that you should check out. It was a series of flashmobbers that rocked up at a kids little league game like it was the final game of the world series.
      They rocked up in team colours, faces painted, banners, signs and I seem to recall they were able to talk people into donating the use of a jumbo-vision and commentators.

      It might not have been for a super world changing benefit, but the smiles on those kids faces when their little league game became bigger than Ben Hur was well worth it.

    • Nick says:

      11:13am | 09/02/12

      Flash mobs are tired, period. They were a ‘thing’ about 7-8 years ago and now they’re just desperate and annoying. Time to move on all around!

      Reply

    • Paulie Walnuts says:

      11:21am | 09/02/12

      So this betrays the “authentic ethos”?  Give me a break - it’s all just a bunch of people with too much time on their hands behaving like sheep.

      Reply

    • Lance says:

      11:36am | 09/02/12

      Exactly,  bunch of losers who should get a real job.

    • Lance says:

      11:34am | 09/02/12

      Does anybody really care that flash mobs have been commercialised???

      I mean apart from the losers who are part of the occupy wall street protest who are against anyone who makes money and are against the “corporate machine”(yet sit there occupying while checking their facebook on their iphone, it seems their hypocrisy knows no end) does anybody really give a stuff???

      Good on the people getting paid to do them at least they are getting off their bums and getting a paid job as compared to the wastes of spaces organizing to do them for free because they’re bored on the dole or couldnt be botherd going to their uni lecture.

      What an irrelevant, pathetic excuse for a news article. If I was your boss I would sack you Daniel Piotrowski

      Reply

    • Lance's Boss says:

      12:59pm | 09/02/12

      You’re FIRED….

    • Daniel Piotrowski

      Daniel Piotrowski says:

      01:15pm | 09/02/12

      Hi Lance,

      It’s not a news article. It’s an opinion piece observing a social trend. What’s the big deal?

    • C Bomb says:

      01:31pm | 09/02/12

      Maybe Lance thinks some people’s opinions are worth more than others?

    • Dave says:

      11:05am | 24/02/12

      Just letting you know the term “cash mobs” is now a reference to a flash mob who goes to struggling local small businesses and spend money. Everyone agrees to spend at least $20 which can’t be on bargain buys, although bargains can still be bought above that amount of course.

      I guess these advertising flash mobs will need a new nickname, great opportunity to call them something really crumby LOL

      Reply
 
Comment

Facebook Recommendations

Read all about it

Punch live

Up to the minute Twitter chatter

ToryShepherd

ToryShepherd 28 May 12 10:46PM

RT @saline: Touche Miriam. Touche Barry. Wicked old thespians taking the pith. #qanda

ToryShepherd

ToryShepherd 28 May 12 10:42PM

The best haters are the worst spellers #qandadelayed#godihopeididntmakeatypo

Anthony Sharwood

antsharwood 28 May 12 08:31PM

How much fun is it retweeting people who can't spell?

Anthony Sharwood

antsharwood 28 May 12 08:29PM

In other Olympian news, Steph rice is advertising Sunrice Chinese style Mongolian chicken. Think about that for a tick

See all tweets

Recent posts

The latest and greatest

On a hiding to tweet nothing over mining jobs

by David Penberthy

16

On a hiding to tweet nothing over mining jobs

You know you’re in strife as a political leader when you must rely on the almost uniformly vacuous…

An NT intervention policy coming to a suburb near you

by Daniel Piotrowski

11

An NT intervention policy coming to a suburb near you

A controversial policy from the Northern Territory intervention has managed to get through the atrocious…

An insight into a particularly tricky relationship

by Marc Glasby

17

An insight into a particularly tricky relationship

Marc Glasby has been married to his wife Belle for over thirty years. Three years ago, Belle was reunited…

Nosebleed Section

choice ringside rantings

From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

Michael S says:

"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]

From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone

Change Up! says:

I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]

Light weight

Gentle jabs to the ribs

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more

243 comments

Newsletter

Read all about it

Sign up to the free daily Punch newsletter

Subscribe to The Punch RSS feed