Anyone with a crappy old car sitting on their lawn with ‘For Sale’ written on the windscreen should watch this…it’s how you get rid of a rustbucket.
Sydney-based advertising guru, David Johns, has made headlines across the world with his radical approach to off-loading his clapped-out 1999 Holden Barina hatch back.
Johns has not only created a glittering website for his car but has made a YouTube video that puts most conventional car ads to shame.
Both the high-quality video – which features fireball special effects and doves in slow motion - and his buymybarina.com website have become huge hits on social media with more than 26,800 YouTube views since it was uploaded yesterday and hundreds of tweets with the hashtag #buymybarina.
The campaign has even attracted a series of high-profile television interviews, including a request to appear on Good Morning America later this week and a slot on Channel Seven's Sunrise tomorrow morning.
Johns told Drive he has been overwhelmed with the response from what began as a "labour of love" for his creative team within the advertising agency, Chimney Group, which has experience developing campaigns for luxury car makers.
"In all honesty, it started because I had this banged-up little car that never died and I sat in a meeting one day and asked anyone if they wanted to buy it," Johns said.
"Nobody put their hand up, but I work with a bunch of creative guys and we came up with ridiculous idea.
"We knew it would be popular, as we know what people want to watch, but I certainly didn't expect to sitting here taking a crash course in French and Portuguese so I can reply to all these funny tweets."
Johns has yet to put an end-date on when bidding will officially end on his banged-up Barina, but is hoping the popularity of his internet campaign will eventually net him more than the market value for the car, which would normally sell for less than $1000.
"There have been some legitimate offers and, sure, it might get significantly more than its value in the end," he said.
"But I'm more amused at the interesting offers we've had, like one guy who offered a box of crackerjacks and a half-used loofa, and another who offered $20 and a song he'd written about the car."
I will offer you a box of crackerjacks and a gently used loofa #buymybarina
— Theo Hall (@ThenamesT)
July 14, 2014
It has even attracted the attention of Holden, which tweeted 'We WISH it was a stunt by us'
@tp_rose @YouTube We WISH it was a stunt by us, love it! -MC #buymybarina
— Holden (@holdennews)
July 15, 2014
Whatever the end result, Johns admits that creative presentation is a key to success in selling second-hand cars.
"It's a way of cutting through the noise," he said.
"It doesn't have to be this grand, but being creative certainly helps."
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