The Fun Theory ("Piano Stairs")
Volkswagen2009
The Fun Theory ("Piano Stairs") is a 2009 online video series and website for Volkswagen, created by DDB Stockholm.
Why it works
Volkswagen Sweden turned the stairs at Stockholm's Odenplan subway station into working piano keys, filmed commuters abandoning the escalator, and put the result online. The 'Piano Stairs', a 'World's Deepest Bin' and a bottle-bank arcade game were the visible proof of a thesis: that the easiest way to change behaviour for the better is to make it fun. Volkswagen kept its own role low-key; the BlueMotion cars being promoted barely feature. Stanford Social Innovation Review reported that 66% more people than usual took the stairs during the one-day test, and that within a couple of months the films had drawn some 13 million YouTube views, 10 million for the piano alone. It is studied as a pioneer of experiment-as-content advertising, where a brand proves a value instead of listing product features, and as a template for behaviour-change work since. DDB Stockholm's campaign won the Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes 2010.
Techniques
- Guerrilla and ambient Subway stairs in Stockholm are turned into working piano keys and filmed as commuters abandon the escalator, a playful real-world intervention.
- Purpose and cause Keeping its cars in the background, the brand argues that making good behaviour fun, from taking the stairs to using a bin, is how to change it.
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