The Shopping Boys
Since last fall Les Shoppen Boys are a marketing case in France. A bunch of men, wearing only red boxers act as models in Celio stores (a men clothing chain), and help women to choose clothes at the right size for their partners. If you’re not sure whether a t-shirt will fit your boyfriend, you pick a “Shoppen Boy” who looks the same size of your man, and he tries the t-shirt on for you.
Basically the Shoppen Boys are the commercial version of the Full Monty… The video below recaps the action (an idea of Nouveau Jour) and highlights all the PR buzz generated in France (they even ended up on Tv several times).
Now the action has gone further, cashing on the PR. They’ve launched a site to recruit the 12 Shoppen Boys who will appear in the Celio 2008 calendar. Becoming one of the them is not easy, as men have to prove their skills sending a video in which they dance wearing only the boxers and following the music of the official soundtrack… Women, if you’re brave enough, visit the gallery with the submissions until now…
If you want to be friend with the Shoppen Boys, they also have a page on Myspace.
That’s a typical example of future marketing trends and public relations ; The creative idea (asking Les Shoopen Boys to try shirts to see whether it fits with your boyfriend’body) is newsworthy but maybe not so trustful ? Can we found A shoppen boys in every Celio’s stores ?