Over the years, people have bid on some pretty weird items from celebrities in the name of charity.
There was Justin Timberlake’s half-eaten French toast that sold for over £1,000 or Scarlett Johansson’s used tissue that was snatched up for a whopping £4,000. And who could forget the gross rumour that Harry Styles vomit was sold on eBay?!
It seems we’ll bid for anything if it’s been touched by a celebrity – and the more personal the better!
The latest celebrity to join the trend is none other than Scottish rising star, Lewis Capaldi.
Oreo partnered with Lewis to give one lucky fan the opportunity to purchase a pack of Oreos which has been up close and personal to the star.
In the promotional video, Capaldi twists, licks and dunks his cookies, before putting them wrapped up in a signed frame – ready to be auctioned off on eBay alongside a special limited-edition pack featuring his face.
While it might sound pretty disgusting, it’s all for a good cause as 100% of the proceeds goes to Nordoff Robbins; the largest music therapy charity in the UK which uses music to enrich the lives of people with life-limiting illness, disabilities and feelings of isolation.
The headline-grabbing stunt drew together two highly-effective marketing techniques – influencer marketing using a high-profile celebrity and CSR.
Lewis Capaldi is an internet sensation who has over 24mil monthly listeners on Spotify. There was a plethora of press coverage on the partnership and, at the time of writing, the eBay auction had raised over £1,600.
The music star is no stranger to social media where he makes digs at himself to make his followers laugh – earning himself legions of fans worldwide and making him the perfect partner for this playful stunt.
The campaign video was posted on Capaldi’s own social pages and shared by multiple news outlets, adding to the reach of the highly-engaging brand activation.
Oreo aimed to delight and capture the attention of music fans to drive sales and increase awareness of its ‘Twist, Lick, Dunk’ campaign by capitalising on Lewis’ growing fame. By donating the proceeds to a well-aligned charity, the brand has also positioned itself as a responsible and caring business at a time when consumers prefer to purchase from purpose-driven brands.
We love marketing activations that serve not only to raise brand awareness but also seek to increase donations and recognition for deserving charitable causes, like the time IKEA used its experiential powers to promote the work of the Red Cross, and when British Gas partnered with homelessness charity Shelter on a live activation.