Cannon Blast Bar Crawl
CAPTAIN MORGAN/DIAGEO
Date: October 2015
Agency: Campfire
A SHOT ACROSS THE BOW
“Doing a shot” is a sure-fire start to a great night with friends – a social ritual that often leads to epic bar crawls.
So to launch Captain Morgan’s new Cannon Blast, we created something equally epic: the world’s first Human Cannonball Bar Crawl!
BUILDING THE CANNONS
Working alongside Brian Miser (one of only ten working Human Cannonballs in the world today) and fabricators from Disney World and Universal Studios, we created two enormous custom-built cannons, designed specifically for our death-defying stunt.
Our goal: Shoot a man 50 feet in the air above a crowd … not once but twice… for a total distance of over 300 feet. From bar, to bar, to bar!
ONE-OF-A-KIND STUNT
Taking over downtown Orlando for one day in October, we planned and executed a unique stunt that drew thousands of fans to location. Also in attendance were local and national press, and a select group of celebrities and influencers. Partygoers were able to behold this traditional circus stunt like never before, all while sampling The Captain’s new product.
The entire event was also Periscoped live by comedians at Funny or Die, and captured by our team in this BTS video.
RESULTS
Within 24 hours, we’d edited a 60-second video of the event designed exclusively for social distribution (it’s at the top of this page). Since its release, the video has been viewed on Facebook more than 1.2 million times, and the overall campaign earned over 100 million PR impressions.
The event contributed to the Captain Morgan brand outperforming the declining rum category in 2015, driven — according to Diageo — by the launch of Cannon Blast.
What The Press Said
"Pretty on the nose and clever and also generally awesome! Just the way we like it."–Funny or Die
"After the second blast from the cannon was successful, I knew Captain Morgan had a hit."–B.S.O.
"The Shot Heard Round The World!"–Stupid Dope
"Let’s just say, the Captain knows how to throw a party; it was a blast. Pun definitely intended."–COED
"Captain Morgan is doing it right"–Bro My God
"The most badass bar crawl there ever was!"–Man Cave Daily
"it was an explosive event.. literally!"–Guys Gab