Two brands not well-known for social media — Downy and Macy’s — are teaming up for a stunt in which comedian Mike Birbiglia will be living and sleeping in a window display at Macy’s for a week and recording his feelings on Facebook.
The program is promoting a “Clean Sheet Week” challenge for Ultra Downy April Fresh and Macy’s sheets, which are being marketed together. Birbiglia, who wrote a book called Sleepwalk with Me, which chronicles his rare sleep disorder, was chosen as the first person to take the Clean Sheet Week challenge. Starting Monday, Birbiglia will be living in the window at Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street in New York City.
Years ago, such a stunt would have been local in nature, but social media has greatly broadened its scope. Birbiglia will offer a “Daily Video Confessional” on Facebook where he’ll share his feelings about living in the Macy’s window and he’ll crowdsource questions.
Such real-time marketing is more of a draw if a well-known comedian is on hand. Downy’s and Macy’s program comes a week after HP launched a live comedy show on YouTube featuring comedian Rob Riggle and members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. That program was broadcast simultaneously on the brand’s Facebook page. For Procter & Gamble’s Downy, the effort helps address a common problem among packaged goods marketers: How do you get people to have social media conversations about soap? The answer is to attach the product to an issue or promise.
In this case, Downy’s Clean Sheet Week promises that Ultra Downy April Fresh will let you keep bedsheets smelling clean even after a week. The brand is underscoring the point with a new ad that shows a crew dropping a bed onto city streets and then asking people to sniff the sheets, which they’re then told were washed a week before.
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