There’s been a giant pink box with a bow on top sitting at the corner of Bay and College streets in Toronto for almost a week, with no clue as to its contents, or its purpose. But at 5 p.m. yesterday, bystanders were treated to a mini-spectacle as Energizer, the owner of the box, unveiled its contents amidst a sea of dancers.
The stunt was part of Energizer’s TIFF sponsorship, which has seen the ubiquitous pink bunny appearing at different events around the city. The bunny was in attendance last night, and for the moments leading up to 5 p.m., was the only sign that anything was going to happen. Then at the stroke of 5, a procession of drummers appeared on the sidewalk for an impromptu performance, and then dancers started leaping out of the crowd and into the middle of the circle that formed.
Soon, a troupe of Bollywood-style dancers filled the scene and were followed by a great gaggle of children with some Michael Jackson-inspired moves.
It was all over before you could blink, at which point the great pink box was opened and a giant plastic-egg-dispensing candy machine was unveiled, followed quickly by the appearance of a performer on stilts – dubbed the Postive Energy Machine by Energizer – who passed out prizes to the revved-up crowd.
The stunt was promoted only via Twitter, which has been the main media strategy behind Energizer’s TIFF sponsorship, an press release distributed after the event said. The brand has been running a Twitter-generated giveaway campaign, offering up prizes such as Energizer bunny slippers to generate followers and interest. Marketing was handled by Toronto’s Simon Pure Marketing and social media by MP Thread, a division of Media Profile.
‘With Torontonians eager to participate in TIFF, even if they don’t have tickets to movies or parties, we knew Twitter was an efficient and engaging way to keep TIFF fans in-the-know’, Mark Evans, senior social media strategist, MP Thread, said in a release.
The ‘Positive Energy Machine’ and the Energizer bunny will continue to appear at TIFF events, as well as five more similar scheduled stops around the city core.
