The Power of Advertising by Windex

There's just something about these guys. You have to watch them. What if they drop it? How are they going to get around that corner? What if one of the suction cups gives? Wherever men are moving a big sheet of glass, folks just naturally stop to watch. And that's what they did one day on Chicago's busy Michigan Avenue late last year as two men, their hands gripping suction cups, struggled with a large piece of glass, by the looks of it perhaps 8 feet long and 4 or more feet high. Maybe it was for a store window. But there was something odd about this glass, as people up close noticed. It was amazingly clear. In fact, two men in white uniforms weren't carrying a piece of glass at all. They were actors, and the whole thing was a stunt. The giveaway was on the back of their uniforms. "Windex glass cleaner. Glass so clean it’s invisible."
The stunt was the idea from the creative minds at Windex’s agency Draftfcb Chicago. "It’s funny, it started off when we were sitting in my office talking about Windex and the proposition ‘glass so clear it’s invisible,’" says Rob Sherlock, chief creative officer. "Then one of the creative directors said, ‘I’ve had this thought about movers moving glass, but there’s actually no glass.’ Often these things get said and people say, ‘Hey, that’d be nice,’ but then nothing happens. But we decided we have to make this happen." For the men to carry the piece of glass that wasn't, the agency turned to Second City Chicago, the theater company that has produced the likes of John Belushi, Mike Myers, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner. The men were then outfitted in the white uniforms and suctions cups and off they went to play their parts.
Video of the stunt later popped up on YouTube and a number of ad blogs, and Sherlock says its success has caused Windex to consider rolling out similar stunts in other markets later this year. As an alternative campaign, the stunt worked on all the important levels. It was eye-catching, long on imagination and short on cost. "These are simple little initiatives that aren’t expensive and resonate massively," says Sherlock. "All you need are some actors and some suction cups."

More Clever Marketing....
SC Johnson Alleviates 'Window Washing Avoidance Syndrome' Across America: A recent study reveals that 80 percent of homeowners avoid cleaning their outdoor windows - a behavior SC Johnson has identified as Window Washing Avoidance Syndrome (WWAS). The most common WWAS symptom is "window pain," which includes moving outdoor window washing to the bottom of the to-do list because of the time, energy and hassle required to get the job done, combined with lackluster results. The Symptoms Speak for Themselves:
Prior to the development of treatment options, homeowners spoke out about their WWAS symptoms in the Windex(R) Outdoor All-in-One Glass Cleaning Tool Survey. Maybe Next Year - While 72 percent of homeowners think that windows should be cleaned at least a few times per year, only 42 percent say they actually do clean their windows that often. I'd Rather Be... - Almost half of homeowners (48 percent) would rather clean the toilet or shower than clean the outdoor windows. Feeling the Pain - While there are many excuses in the book, 38 percent of homeowners admit they avoid outdoor window cleaning altogether due to the time and effort required. Now, homeowners can enjoy neighborhood bragging rights for the cleanest windows and still have time to lounge by the pool or play with the kids.