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Today’s new take on the Flashdance: The Flash Mob

Have you heard the term “Flash Mob”? According to Wikipedia, a flash mob is a “large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse.” So you’re standing around at the mall, and suddenly all the other people engage in a spontaneous pillow fight. Or emerge in groups to begin dancing with each other. Or sing.

The first flash mob was organized in Manhattan in May 2003, but was unsuccessful because the targeted location was tipped off in advance about the plan. According to Dan Hall, brand manager for experiential agency ID, these early flash mobs were seen as such an impressive medium for generating PR that they were soon being implemented by advertisers as a way to gain attention for their message. More recently, the phenomenon has even been exhibited with crowds of zombies.

In an article at AllBusiness, Hall says “Flash mobs are a tremendously powerful medium to surprise otherwise marketing-savvy consumers into recognising and interacting with a brand face to face.’ Through their presence in the spontaneous event, “They allow people to be part of a shared experience they can tell others about.”

T-Mobile has capitalized on the flash mob concept in an ongoing advertising campaign that has used choreographed dances and karaoke events to “bring to life the fact that there are often unexpected, wonderful, exciting things that happen that you want to be able to share.”

What would you do if you were standing in a train station and people around you suddenly started dancing? Would you join in? Would you grab your cell phone and start recording? Would you be frightened? Check out these two videos: The first is a performance of “Do Re Mi”, performed by more than 200 dancers in the Central Station of Antwerp. The second is a video that explains how T-Mobile created their own Flash Mob with 400 dancers in Liverpool Station.