Lazada breaks the fourth wall in movie theatre on-ground activation

Last Friday night, eCommerce platform Lazada Singapore took audiences at a movie theatre by surprise with an on-ground activation before the start of a movie, to drive attention to the brand's message.

While invited guests including key opinion leaders (KOLS) and members of the press were waiting for the movie to start, an ad from the brand took over the movie screen. In the ad, a woman enters her son's bedroom and calls him and at that instant, a phone from within the audience rings.

A young man then stands up from his seat in the crowd and picks up the phone call. It is revealed that the man in the crowd is the son of the woman on the screen, and the two began interacting with each other - breaking the fourth wall.

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In the ad, the woman is seen rummaging through her son's belongings and points out some of the ridiculous items he has recently bought such as a tiny frog-shaped hat for his hamster, a blanket shaped like a 'roti prata' (Indian flatbread), pink chopsticks that mimic lightsabres from Star Wars, toy chickens, wigs and pantyhose amongst many others.

The young man in the crowd is seen trying to frantically defend his purchases to his mother and gets increasingly embarrassed as he interacts with laughing audience members around him. The young man then tells his mother that he will be back home and runs out of the theatre.

Shortly after, he appears on screen with his mother where she teases him for purchasing pantyhose. The man later addresses viewers, telling them to shop at Lazada where the prices are always better. His mother joins him, adding that shopping on Lazada guarantees the lowest prices. The ad ends with the mother and son duo dancing, while audience members in the theatre clap and cheer.

In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, group CMO Marcus Chew said, the activation was inspired by his own real-life experience. "The inspiration came when my mother Facetimed me while I was at the cinema one day before I could silence my phone, and you can imagine the attention I got. I thought, why not amplify this with our ad campaign?"

He added that often an ad is a one-way communication, and least expected to break the fourth wall. As such an execution like this was thought to be able to “create an intimate experience while leaving a lasting mindshare on the audience."

He added, "With tons of content out there and consumers' short attention spans, we needed an idea beyond our ad campaign to drive attention to our message that Lazada always has Better Prices. The challenge is always how to grab attention."

Lazada will be activating a local version of this activation across all six of its SEA markets. The activation will consist of two to three sessions in a cinema with KOLs in attendance and will use social media to reach the masses. The campaign will run for three weeks and was developed in-house, with a strong collaboration between its brand, media and social team.

A video of the activation has since been going around on TikTok, with over 1 million views, 90K likes, 2200 shares and 250 comments over the last 48 hours, added Chew. Some comments on the TikTok video include "Lazada damn creative", "The type of ads I wanted," and "That is smart marketing."

This is not the first time Lazada has banked on offline activations to capture consumers’ attention. Last year the brand also launched its inaugural running event across the region. During the activation, Chew said Lazada Run was founded on the commitment to offer memorable experiences beyond that online purchase.

“We want to make Lazada Run an event where we can grow our digital reach and connect with our customers as we inspire and enable them to add more to life, starting with fitness,” he said.

In Malaysia, Lazada also transformed Kuala Lampur’s Jalan Bukit Bintang into a fashion runway for its exclusive fashion show, "Koleksi Raya LazLook". This was the answer to fashion being one of the most popular search categories on Lazada Malaysia on its 11th birthday sale across Southeast Asia.

Join us on 12 June 2024 for an exciting experience as Content360 makes its debut in Malaysia! Brace yourself to join the crème de la crème of the content marketing industry hailing from across the region. Immerse yourself in a dynamic atmosphere, and uncover the latest trends with thought leaders and solution providers from the realm of content.

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