Design in the Wild: VW + Fun = Viral

by Alex Rainert on October 12, 2009 · View Comments

in Advertising,Design in the Wild,Process,Thoughts

Volkswagen’s new viral video campaign, The Fun Theory caught my eye this week.

“The Fun Theory” is a series of experiments, captured on video, to find out if making the world more fun can improve people’s behavior.

Among the experiments: does turning a set of subway stairs into a real-life piano encourage people to use them (answer: yes, 66% more). Another experiment asks whether making a trash can sound like a 50ft-deep well will make people pick up their trash. An upcoming experiment, meanwhile, will turn a bottle recycling center into an arcade game.

Seeing it immediately got the ITP grad + Experience Designer in me all excited. Viral video + ad campaign blather aside, these videos can stand alone as great studies in how injecting a little playfulness can not only create a profound, memorable experience but it can also change human behavior. Pretty powerful stuff. I highly recommend you go watch them all.

{ 6 comments }

1 ryangraves October 12, 2009 at 9:25 am

Brilliant project, and your blog is awesome btw.
I'll be back.

2 arainert October 12, 2009 at 9:33 am

Thanks so much, Ryan. Glad you enjoy it!

3 Steffan Antonas October 12, 2009 at 10:34 am

I second Ryan. This is freakin awesome.

4 Ryan Graves October 12, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Brilliant project, and your blog is awesome btw.
I'll be back.

5 arainert October 12, 2009 at 4:33 pm

Thanks so much, Ryan. Glad you enjoy it!

6 Steffan Antonas October 12, 2009 at 5:34 pm

I second Ryan. This is freakin awesome.

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