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Video scavenger hunt…

* Updated Video Added of Our Team’s Scavenger Hunt *

Here’s the most fun you have with a video camera unless you’re Paris Hilton.

I’ve been trying to get this going for a long time and finally this past Saturday I convinced enough friends that it would be a lot of fun. The plan was we break up into 3 teams of 3 and everyone was on their own throughout the day with their list of actions they needed filmed. Then we’d all get back together at my house to watch the footage and have a great dinner.

There were only 2 rules:

Rule #1 – You cannot disclose you are on a scavenger hunt. You may however use
any means and random stories to give the crowd your ‘reason why’ you are so strange.

Rule #2 – See rule #1

I really think it turned out way better than anyone thought. Everyone had a great time and it was hilarious watching the tapes from the other teams. Here’s the list of what we were on the look out for:

* * *
Try to buy something at the store with a foreign currency 75
Find a twin for every member of the team 75
Bonus for best look-alike 50 (only one team gets this bonus)
Interview people walking out of a restroom if they ‘crumble’ or ‘fold’ toilet paper 50
Walk into an establishment and perform the song playing 50
Bonus for Neil Diamond song – 50
Kiss a fish 35
Change clothes with a stranger – 100
Bonus for pants – 150
Break dance on a cardboard box in public 75
Bonus for each move 25
Bonus for getting stranger to join in 50
Point at nothing and get passerby to look at it 50
Bonus 10 points per passerby pointing – 10/per
Get someone in your team to sing and act out the teapot song 50
Cartwheels across a 2 lane street 50
Bonus for doing it against the ‘Don’t Walk’ sign 75
Stage a Kung-Fu battle in front of a Starbucks 50
Bonus 25 points for each passerby who joins – 25 points/per
Comment on loving couple’s behavior as if narrating a nature program 75
Create an obstacle on a sidewalk and then act as Olympic judges rating how well people navigate it 75
Take a nap in an inappropriate location 35
Re-enact the “King of the World” scene 30
Get in a car “Dukes of Hazard” style 30
Help carry groceries to car 25
Bonus for getting a tip 15
Team members playing leapfrog in front of Starbucks 15
Haggle over the price of a sandwich – 50
Bonus for getting priced reduced – 25
Get a piggyback ride from a stranger 75
Test drive a stranger’s car – 75
Bonus if exotic car (Lambo, Ferrari, etc) – 100
Get someone to stop for you to sketch them – 50
Bonus for getting paid – 25
Window wash cars in stopped traffic- 50
Bonus for getting a tip 25
Get someone guess the Star Spangled Banner from just whistling the tune 75
Bonus if they guess on the first pick 25
Film your group in a stranger’s living room 75
Slap fight each other in front of a store – 75
Find a runner, jog with him or her for minimum of 1 minute 50
Do a street magic trick – 50
Bonus for getting a tip on performance – 15
Everyone walks into Starbucks separately and orders the same convoluted and crazy drink from the barista (cannot be in line right after each) – 100 (points only awarded if all team does this)
Comment on a stranger’s fine choice of watches while standing at the urinal together 75
Ask stranger to make an emergency cell phone to Lithuania on their cell phone – 75
Get something out of the trash in plain view of stranger and then try to sell that object to them – 75
Bonus for them actually buying 75
High-five a police officer 50
Group hug a police officer   100
Eat off a stranger’s plate 75
Bonus for getting a second bite 50
Stay in front of a restaurant window and pretend to eat a bite every time the customer in front of the window bites their food 50
Old lady on the ground yelling “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up 50
Getting a guy to try on a dress 50
Group member sitting on the lap of a public statue 50
Get a stranger to let you bowl one ball for him/her during their game 50
Purchase an item of at least $3 and pay the whole thing with pennies 50
A member of your group walking a stranger’s dog 50
Propose to a completely random girl (no restrictions on whether the random girl accepts or not; the guy must get on bended knee) – 50
Drive backwards through a drive thru and order something – 35
Go into the dressing room and yell loudly…”Hey, we’re out of toilet paper in here!” – 50
Tell a stranger they look like a certain celebrity and get an autograph – 50
Bonus for actually getting the autograph – 50
Go fishing in a public fountain – 50
Act out children’s story for group of children 50
In elevator shake hands with everyone getting on and tell them they can call you “Admiral” – 50
Give a statue a lap dance – 50
Catching a frisbee in your Mouth – 25
Ask a $1 from a stranger to help support your cause to grow a money tree and bury it in front of them – 50
Hang upside down from monkey bars while making monkey noises & eating a banana – 50
Fly paper airplanes at strangers – 25

WILD CARD – Your group can create their own scenario for a bonus 150 points. The other teams must give you a majority vote to score your points.

* * *
My team consisted of 2 other marketers – Chris Zavadowski and Rob Olic so we used our marketing smarts. In the morning when we printed out another separate list printed out with the following at the top –

University of Maryland College of Theatre and Performance
Film 301
Assignment #3 – Online Viral Video

We were using Robert Cialdini’s “Reason why”, “Authority” and “social proof” on our side. Our story was for Film 301 class we had an assignment to capture all these items on film to see what would become viral online. It was amazing to see how using the reason-why of this class assignment plus authority (the actual sheet) and social proof (we had checked off some items already) got people to accept our premise.

Hopefully Chris will get some video footage up online shortly of our team but I pretty much know one activity – ‘Getting a test drive from a stranger’ wouldn’t have worked without this. I mean that one is pretty tough but we explained to the ladies about the class assignment and even showed them the list. At first they were completely taken back and then gave in. It was incredible watching the change. They obviously have no idea who I am and they just gave me the keys (and even rode along) with a perfect stranger. Amazing! Though it’s a good lesson again on using ‘reason why’ in your marketing.

* Updated* Here’s some of the footage from our group

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbyRS6KOLaA]

We had a ton of laughs just shooting everything…

A couple highlights include Rob chasing down a biker and asking to swap shirts with him. I don’t envy Rob since I’m sure this shirt was all sweaty from the guy’s bike ride but it was so funny I couldn’t believe it.

  

Chris laying down in the entrance to Barnes & Noble’s bookstore just taking a nap. It was pretty funny seeing how unconcerned some people were while others were asking if we should call ‘911’. I told them he’s a narcoleptic and falls asleep a lot of places.

I got into the scene break dancing on a cardboard box and these teenage girls watching walked away saying “That sucked!” And I even grabbed a random tomato off another girl’s plate much to her dismay.

We saw my neighbors while we were out and the 9-year old girl looked at the list and said, “Why would you do this?” I guess that’s a good question…

I have some quick clips still on my computer from one of the other teams headed up by my brother Adam. They had a lot of things going wrong like their camera not being charged, running out of tape and more – but they still got a lot of tasks done. Here are a couple:

1. Kissing a Fish

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsPviE0G58Y]

2. Breakdancing in the parking lot:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TvjZLxLj_U]

If you’re a little bored and looking for a fun activity – organize one of these video scavenger hunts. I guarantee you will have a ton of fun. And if you do it – let me know…

P.S. I also found a few lost photos from my Player’s Run rally with Kern last year. (For the rally we dressed up like ‘Elvi’ each day progressing from 1950′s Elvis to Fat, bloated Elvis.) I figured you guys might want a new screensaver anyway.

    

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