Client BBH Asia-Pacific
Project iSaw
Brief BBH Asia-Pacific wanted to create a free desktop application called PaperCut, which would play the sound of a chainsaw whenever the user hit Ctrl-P. The application would encourage people to think more carefully before using the print function on their computer. The challenge, though, was to promote the app on a miniscule budget of just USD$7,000
Project iSaw
Brief BBH Asia-Pacific wanted to create a free desktop application called PaperCut, which would play the sound of a chainsaw whenever the user hit Ctrl-P. The application would encourage people to think more carefully before using the print function on their computer. The challenge, though, was to promote the app on a miniscule budget of just USD$7,000
People For www.papercut.com.sg: creative director, Peter Callaghan; art director, Joseph Tay. For the iSaw application: Noel Yeo and Shawn Loo, both digital directors
Duration July, 2009 to present
Background The iSaw campaign was orchestrated to drive traffic to papercut.com.sg through viral means. The BBH team dreamed up a product, rather than a classic viral video. Something so incredulous it would be picked up by the online press.
The agency noticed that any new, odd USB peripheral was usually talked about on blogs - for example, the USB humping dog, the USB fridge and the USB coffee warmer. BBH thought itseemed crazy that anyone would build a USB chainsaw. That’s why they built it. An entirely spoof creation, the i.Saw was a USB-powered chainsaw complete with its own product page and product demo clip.
Aim The thinking behind the campaign was to get people talking about the USB chainsaw. When attention for the chainsaw reached fever pitch, the agency would reveal that it was really the users keyboard, and get people to download the PaperCut app.
Execution BBH first created a believable website at www.usbchainsaw.com, which included a video demo, close-up photographs, wallpapers, detailed specifications and an option to pre-order the chainsaw. Within 48 hours, the agency had already received over 1,000 pre-orders.
“The main goal was to make sure the product was as believable as possible,” says digital director Noel Yeo. “We made sure the site felt suitably polished, but we kept the earnest,over-zealous tone of the copy often found on lower-end sites, so it felt more realistic.”
The creators seeded various blogs, writing to them from a number of ficticious accounts, offering the USB chainsaw as a news tip. Says Yeo: “The next morning, the people hosting our site asked what the hell happened, because it was sucking out too much bandwidth. In 24 hours, we had gotten 1.5 million hits on the website. And in one week, 7 million.”
The reveal was made two days later. All those who had pre-ordered received an email detailing the hoax and explaining the cause, while at the same time rallying for their support. Anyone who continued to pre-order on the website would receive a message reading: “You already own a chainsaw. Your keyboard,” together with instructions on how to download PaperCut. The app itself roars into chainsaw sounds as soon as the user presses print. It doesn’t cancel printing, but serves as a reminder to think before printing.
Results The www.usbchainsaw.com website has so far received over 10 million hits with more than 250,000 unique visitors. Articles on the i.Saw have appeared around the world, including Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Russia, Greece, Spain and Vietnam. Both Wired and Gizmodo lauded the campaign as a success, with Gizmodo saying: “The cause it was created to support is one we can definitely get behind.” Several i.Saw demo video clips appeared on YouTube, garnering a total of over 100,000 views. The PaperCut app has so far been downloaded more than 2,000 times in over 80 countries and the numbers are still increasing.
This article was originally published in 24 September 2009 Autumn issue of Digital Media.
Duration July, 2009 to present
Background The iSaw campaign was orchestrated to drive traffic to papercut.com.sg through viral means. The BBH team dreamed up a product, rather than a classic viral video. Something so incredulous it would be picked up by the online press.
The agency noticed that any new, odd USB peripheral was usually talked about on blogs - for example, the USB humping dog, the USB fridge and the USB coffee warmer. BBH thought itseemed crazy that anyone would build a USB chainsaw. That’s why they built it. An entirely spoof creation, the i.Saw was a USB-powered chainsaw complete with its own product page and product demo clip.
Aim The thinking behind the campaign was to get people talking about the USB chainsaw. When attention for the chainsaw reached fever pitch, the agency would reveal that it was really the users keyboard, and get people to download the PaperCut app.
Execution BBH first created a believable website at www.usbchainsaw.com, which included a video demo, close-up photographs, wallpapers, detailed specifications and an option to pre-order the chainsaw. Within 48 hours, the agency had already received over 1,000 pre-orders.
“The main goal was to make sure the product was as believable as possible,” says digital director Noel Yeo. “We made sure the site felt suitably polished, but we kept the earnest,over-zealous tone of the copy often found on lower-end sites, so it felt more realistic.”
The creators seeded various blogs, writing to them from a number of ficticious accounts, offering the USB chainsaw as a news tip. Says Yeo: “The next morning, the people hosting our site asked what the hell happened, because it was sucking out too much bandwidth. In 24 hours, we had gotten 1.5 million hits on the website. And in one week, 7 million.”
The reveal was made two days later. All those who had pre-ordered received an email detailing the hoax and explaining the cause, while at the same time rallying for their support. Anyone who continued to pre-order on the website would receive a message reading: “You already own a chainsaw. Your keyboard,” together with instructions on how to download PaperCut. The app itself roars into chainsaw sounds as soon as the user presses print. It doesn’t cancel printing, but serves as a reminder to think before printing.
Results The www.usbchainsaw.com website has so far received over 10 million hits with more than 250,000 unique visitors. Articles on the i.Saw have appeared around the world, including Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Russia, Greece, Spain and Vietnam. Both Wired and Gizmodo lauded the campaign as a success, with Gizmodo saying: “The cause it was created to support is one we can definitely get behind.” Several i.Saw demo video clips appeared on YouTube, garnering a total of over 100,000 views. The PaperCut app has so far been downloaded more than 2,000 times in over 80 countries and the numbers are still increasing.
This article was originally published in 24 September 2009 Autumn issue of Digital Media.
