If you have been driving around Jakarta lately (as we have, a lot!), you might have noticed something odd among the usual billboard ads.

Anti-Mainstream

Yes, that billboard is Upside Down, though it’s not the fault of the Demogorgon. This billboard was intentionally put this way by Lazada. One of Lazada’s customer service officers admits that this is their way to appear anti-mainstream.

It is an interesting take from Lazada and it is effective in gathering buzz and going viral. It has garnered quite a lot of discussion and curiosity among Jakarta netizens.  

I’d Rather Read a Book

But just a month before this billboard goes up, there was another billboard ad that went viral. This one belongs to Go-Jek.

Go-Jek billboard in Jakarta

It looks just like a book page. No photo, no picture, just words. How can you make such a boring ad go viral? Like all good marketing, it’s all about the content. This billboard hits home particularly hard because the writer can articulate all the drivers’ wildest fantasy, that is to arrive in the office early, or arriving home early to see their children. It’s a simple wish that is shared by millions of people in Jakarta every day.

At the end of this article, the writer pops this bubble by pointing out that if you’re still reading this billboard, you have not even reached the Kuningan junction. “Go-jek-in aja” or “just take Go-jek”, it suggests.

Taking Risk

Going viral is every marketer’s dream. If it is so easy to do, why don’t we see more of this kind of wacky advertisements? Because even if you have an interesting idea such as the above examples, you would still have to convince your supervisors and higher management to approve your idea. The majority of companies would like to protect their image and play it safe. Meanwhile, Start-ups such as Lazada and Go-jek are able to undertake such campaigns because they don’t mind taking risks. It is in their nature to break convention, re-imagine and find new ways to do things.

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Thanks for reading The Low Down, insight and inside knowledge from the team at Momentum Works. If you’d like to get in touch with us about any issues discussed in our blog, please drop us an email at [email protected] and let us know how we can help.