With Labor Day around the corner and survey results revealing that more than half of Americans think their job is harder than other professions, Mike’s Hard Lemonade teamed up with actor and former odd-job man Lamorne Morris to put New Yorkers to work. On Aug. 20, as an extension of its “Hard Days Deserve a Hard Lemonade” 25th anniversary campaign, the brand invited consumers 21-plus to participate in “Mike’s Jobstacle Course” to experience what a few “easy” jobs entail, with Morris on hand to offer moral support. Given the hustlers we are, EM couldn’t miss the spectacle, so we headed to Lower Manhattan to inspect the vivid yellow job site.
The venue was completely decked out in Mike’s signature black and yellow color scheme, and featured design cues like construction cones and floor decals that created an “in-the-field” atmosphere. Just before doors opened to the public, the recently Emmy-nominated Morris, who in his pre-Hollywood career worked at TGI Fridays, Hollywood Video, as a Walmart bookseller and as a telemarketer, was the first to take on the Jobstacle Course. The actor legitimately cleared each of the three occupational hurdles, and made it look easy. (It wasn’t.)
When it was time for consumers to rise to the challenge, they first checked in and had their work photo ID taken, then headed to the first gig. The activation was broken down into seemingly simple duties that participants had to complete within a specific time period in order to score swag later in the event.
First up, attendees donned white lab coats and played the role of candy taste-tester. As various sweets rolled down a conveyer belt, they were tasked with quickly unwrapping them, tasting them and attempting to identify their flavor on a dedicated card. Our favorite part? Watching partakers react to candy flavors like pickle and sour cream and onion. (The experience felt like a prime example of the brand’s “every job has its own laughably hard moments” campaign messaging.)
Next, it was on to the book store, complete with rolling carts, ladders, a stuffed cat “sleeping” on a plush chair and shelves arranged according to playful genres, like “Fanta-Sip” and “Cold Hard Crime.” There, participants served as sellers who had to properly organize book stacks before their time ran out.
We have a feeling Mike’s Hard saved the best for last. At the final job station, attendees slipped on rain ponchos and became weather correspondents on assignment in a stormy field where wind, audio and lightning effects, and a gloomy-skied rural backdrop, set the scene.
With one minute on the clock, they stood in front of a news camera and were charged with reading increasingly ridiculous cue cards that detailed an oncoming tornado. And here’s where it gets quite funny and quite social-worthy: As they reported on the dangers of flying livestock, brand ambassadors were off-set throwing blow-up cows directly at them. (Watch it in action below.)
At the end of the hard work day, consumers were invited to the back of the venue and into the “Break Room” where large-scale graphics adorned the walls. Depending on how many of the three jobs they officially completed, participants could choose various kinds of “Hard Days Rewards” swag to take home, like tees, hats, bandanas and koozies.
Consumers also, of course, walked away with their end-of-work treat—an ice-cold Mike’s Hard Lemonade that could be enjoyed at nearby tables. And for those who couldn’t get enough of the experience, table tents bearing QR codes linked to a microsite where they could purchase more Hard Days swag.
Interactive. Incentivized. Comical. Shareable. If we had to review Mike and his Jobstacle Course, a promotion would surely be on the horizon. Agency: Edelman.
More Scenes From the Jobstacle Course:
