A&W has created what it calls the world’s first float thru as part of a stunt that has gone viral on Facebook.
The video shows surprised people floating in the Penticton River Channel in Penticton, B.C., receiving free Teen Burgers from A&W “trainee Ryan,” who has appeared in previous TV ads for the brand.
It was filmed on Aug. 5 and released on Aug. 17. By the following day, the video and related teaser clips had amassed more than 1.1 million views.
“It has organically grown so we’re all pretty pleased,” says Bob Simpson, creative director and writer of Rethink in Vancouver, which created the video. “I don’t think A&W had any numbers like this before.”
Floating on the 7 kilometre-long channel is a popular tourist activity in Penticton, which is in the Okanagan. “I’ve been down this river several times. I knew it would go well,” says Simpson, who was looking for a place that had a lot of people who would be caught off guard.
“It’s an idea that Ryan would come up with – one part genius and two parts dumb.”
He says A&W was receptive to using “Ryan” in a light-hearted spot because more recent ads have focused on ingredients “which was a more serious topic obviously.”
About 500 burgers were handed out to floaters during the five-hour event, with two teams of runners restocking the A&W floating mini restaurant with burgers from area A&Ws.
The burgers were handed out at a spot where people had been floating for more than an hour. Advance signs were placed reading “A&W Float Thru 0.5 nmi (nautical miles) ahead.”
“At that point you’ve kind of had enough,” Simpson says. “People were pretty darn happy to float by and be handed a burger.”
Some Facebook comments express concern about people littering the water with A&W wrappers, but Simpson says “we knew that would be a concern for people” and that all garbage was picked up.
Media relations were handled by Strategic Objectives.
