Last week I was rushing through Union Station’s marble halls to the Metro when I was stopped in my tracks by a very enormous red high-heel shoe (and a peep-toe one, no less).
Other people were hovering around also marveling at the monstrosity, which seemed to have absolutely no explanation for its existence.
I eventually made my way underground to the Metro entrance, which I usually rush through without paying any attention to my surroundings, when another red shoe caught my eye. It was the same red heel in the ads on the wall.
Ah ha. It’s for Mastercard’s check card from Sun Trust. And Mastercard will give me 30% off my shoe purchases. Wait, what!?
The payoff.
I, a marketer, totally fell for the campaign. It grabbed my attention, intrigued me, and I paid attention to the advertising message, partly because I was so shocked and enamored with the ginormous shoe sculpture.
Turns out, Mastercard put these large red objects near Metro entrances throughout D.C. There was a large red dumbbell outside Farragut West, for one. And the Mastercard ads are carefully placed at bus stops and Metro stations.
That kind of marketing? Priceless. Plus, DC gets some fun temporary sculpture art (which will be at Union Station until Jan. 2).
