Opera gets a parking ticket

15 Apr 2011

OSLO, NORWAY: Opera has spent a record budget on its new campaign and has managed to retain its sense of humour as it takes on the big guys - and gets a parking ticket for its troubles.

Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Apple - Opera Software joined the ranks of other web giants as the company unveiled the most expensive ad ever created by the company to promote the launch of the Opera 11.10 browser, which is now also available in Afrikaans. Opera spared little expense to showcase a major overhaul in the speeds of the Opera Turbo compression feature, which is designed to make web connections faster and forms the crowning achievement in the new version.

"In order to win, you have to spend," commented Kei Grieg Toyomasu, director of marketing, Opera Software. "And, this time, we really did. We're spending a fortune to make Opera a household name. We see our competitors doing million-dollar campaigning on TV and on billboards, and we've been so impressed that we decided to put budget into a little something-something ourselves."

Astronomical sums

Opera Software is committed to prudent financial governance. Here are a few of the receipts:

Some guys with a video camera US$3000
Rental of Audi RS4 US$700
Racetrack, so we can go fast US$500
Trendy Swedish clothes US$1500
Laptop US$850
Fake tans US$400
Tacos (both crunchy and soft) US$385
Emergency medical supplies US$315
Beer (consumed after driving) US$300
Gasoline US$230
Flu shots (not really needed, but we got it approved, so we just went for it) US$200
Parking ticket US$50
Disco ball US$30
Deodorant and cologne (fear leaves a distinct musk) US$20
Party hats US$15
Three bottles of generic Pepto-Bismol US$15
Gum US$5
Paperclips US$2.26
Total - a mind-blowing US$8,517.26

"We risked a lot to share this campaign with the world," said Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products, Opera Software.

"We even got a parking ticket. But it's all so we can play in the big leagues with the other fancy pants of the Web. We posted our video on YouTube, so you know it has to be good," he added.

" This is the Internet. And this is serious business," noted Rolf Assev, chief strategy officer, Opera Software.

By the way, Opera Software also released a new browser yesterday. Download it before the warm glow from the expensive ad fades: www.opera.com/.

Watch the "most expensive ad ever" video...