When their initial idea of doing a traditional outdoor poster campaign was cancelled due to budgetary constraints, Melbourne’s Publicis Mojo creatives got, well, creative.

Their client, Nestlé Australia, wanted to push the notion that its Frosty Fruits are refreshing by playing off the idea that its popsicles are an antidote to the madness that befalls people during the hot summer days of Australia. And while an outdoor campaign made sense, since that’s typically where popsicles are consumed, the funding wasn’t there.

So Publicis Mojo decided to erect a larger-than-life statue of a character named Dave, ready for the beach in a leopard-print thong. An official-looking plaque at the base explained how he ended up in that situation, along with the Frosty Fruits logo and the tagline ‘Prevent summer madness.’

The statue was up in high-traffic areas for four days in Sydney in December (when summer begins in Australia), and another went up in Melbourne a few days later.

The statues got lots of visibility, with significant foot traffic from school groups posing for photos with them, as well as couples and tourists of all ages. Product samples were also handed out. The statues’ exposure was further increased by a radio campaign encouraging listeners to visit the statues and have their pictures taken for a chance to win a summer holiday.