The truth about #UFOSA

2 Dec 2015

Twitter was buzzing over the weekend about a mysterious UFO-like green light in the sky. It was spotted in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg, with the crash site in Sandton.

Users used #UFOSA and #jozilanding to express their theories and share photos and videos. So who was behind all the mystery? Joe Public United in partnership with clients Clover & FutureLife, created the extensive one-week integrated experiential launch campaign to grab consumers' attention for the latest delicious on-the-go snack called Smart Drink.

"We positioned this new product as the drink from the future, so we had some fun on social media with hoax sightings and then with a space-craft crash in Sandton. The payload was revealed as Smart Drink. UFOs always bring out the skeptics, but the overwhelming response to the stunt has been incredible. A huge impact in a short space of time is what great work for our clients is about," said Adam Weber, Executive Creative Director, Joe Public.

The best guerrilla marketing campaign I've seen! #UFOSA https://t.co/8AKPOUyZj7
- PR DIVA (@NomsaRadebe) December 2, 2015

The integrated campaign started with the seeding of UFO videos and pictures through Twitter and Facebook posts by social media technology company - emote, garnering enough attention to become the number one trending hashtag in South Africa (#UFOSA).

"So far we have seen over 15 million social impressions since the campaign launched - an enormous success by all accounts," says Ryan Silberman, CEO of emote, Clover's social media agency.

The crash-landing site was built and filmed by production company The Front, with the campaign being conceptualised and supported by above-the-line agency Joe Public and PR agency Engage Joe Public.