Have you had one of those ideas that sounds so insanely absurd, you question if it’s worth presenting at all? This is one of those ideas. Gorman-Rupp is a pump manufacturer out of Mansfield that was going to introduce a new “top secret” submersible pump at a trade show. They wanted to try something untraditional that would create buzz. Enter the “Blue Octo.” I pitched the idea that the pump they were going to unveil was actually a mysterious blue creature that was working its way down to New Orleans from Ohio through the backwoods of the country and kept being spotted and captured on camera as a “blue blur.” A la Bigfoot. We created a fictitious agency (G.R.A.N.D. - Gorman Rupp Advanced Nature Detectives) that would track, report and attempt to capture the creature. It started as a series of emails disguised as a newspaper to bring attention to the sightings. We then placed ads of the same visual nature in trade publications to push the appearance at the event. The next step was sending out direct mail in the form of a police report to garner even more attention. All along the way we updated the branded micro site with new sightings, photos and video all showing a clear directional map pointing towards New Orleans. At the event, the company (dressed as G.R.A.N.D. Operatives) unveiled the pump in a hand made crate after being “captured” just outside the city. It was seriously one of my favorite projects I’ve ever worked on. Categorize this one under “So dumb, it just might work.” And it did.