Guerrilla marketing examples
The street-level stunts that got people filming, grouped into 5 formats you can copy, with a one-line version for your brand and a budget guide on each.
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Celebrity fees, TV airtime or a large custom build.
Budget is our estimate of what it would take to run the same idea yourself, not what the brand spent.
Troll the rival
4 examples
Offer: [WHAT YOU GIVE AWAY] Condition: only at / near / dressed as [RIVAL'S THING] Redeem: at [YOUR LOCATION / APP] Line: "[ONE SENTENCE THAT NAMES THE DARE]"
Budget: Small to mid. The dare is cheap; an app mechanic or national rollout costs more.
Whopper Detour
The BK app unlocked a 1-cent Whopper, but only if you ordered while standing near a McDonald's.
Result The BK app climbed to the top of the App Store charts.
Why it spread
Trolling a rival gave the press a story and gave people a reason to download the app.
Let's grab a pint
Häagen-Dazs put up a Toronto billboard saying "Let's grab a pint". Stella Artois replied, taking it literally.
Why it spread
Brand banter people can see in the street is shareable, and both brands win. Source
Scary Clown Night
On Halloween, Burger King gave a free Whopper to anyone who came in dressed as a clown, a jab at McDonald's.
Why it spread
Customers dressed as the rival's mascot became the ad. Source
No Software
Salesforce hired fake protesters with "No Software" signs outside a rival's conference.
Why it spread
A startup picking a fight with the market leader got it press it couldn't have paid for. Source
The impossible object
5 examples
Object: a giant / strange [THING FROM YOUR PRODUCT OR STORY] Place: [FAMOUS PUBLIC SPOT] people pass every day Timing: appears overnight, gone in [DAYS] Reveal: [WHAT IT'S FOR], posted once people start asking
Budget: Mid to big. Builds, permits and crews add up fast.
Tetris in the sky
The Red Bull Tetris World Final was played live in the sky over Dubai, with each move shown by 2,800 drones.
Result More than 7 million mobile qualifiers from 60 countries.
Why it spread
A game everyone knows at an impossible scale is made for video. Source
The edible mascot
At the first Pop-Tarts Bowl, the mascot climbed into a giant toaster and came out as a giant Pop-Tart that the winning team ate.
Result 4x more engagement than all other bowl game sponsors combined.
Why it spread
It was so strange that it dominated the social conversation that bowl season. Source
The Trafalgar Trojan Horse
A giant Trojan Horse appeared overnight in Trafalgar Square for the release of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
Why it spread
A huge object that appears overnight in a famous square is a guaranteed photo. Source
The Fountain of Filth
To launch a drama about Britain's sewage crisis, Channel 4 built a 10-metre fountain on London's South Bank.
Why it spread
A physical, slightly disgusting object makes an abstract scandal impossible to ignore. Source
The flattened restaurant
A&W made a Toronto restaurant look squashed flat for a day to launch its first smash burger.
Why it spread
The whole building becomes a visual pun for the product. Source
The dare
5 examples
Dare: [IMPOSSIBLE OR ABSURD CHALLENGE] Prize: [WHAT THE WINNER GETS] Proof point: [WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT] Where: a job ad, a press release, one video
Budget: Small to mid. The prize can be the product or a trip.
Holiday Hole
During Black Friday week, CAH took donations to dig a giant hole with an excavator, for no reason, on a livestream.
Result Raised about $100,000.
Why it spread
Satirising Black Friday with a pointless stunt was on-brand and newsworthy.
Best Job in the World
A job ad for an island caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef, with applicants submitting videos.
Result Over 34,000 video applications.
Why it spread
A fantasy job gave media a headline, and applicants made the content.
Expedition Impossible
Columbia dared flat earthers to find the edge of the Earth, betting the whole company that they couldn't.
Why it spread
A bet the brand knows it can't lose makes a bold claim about its gear without saying it. Source
Really bad photographer wanted
Icelandair advertised a paid 10-day trip for a photographer with no photography skills, to prove Iceland looks good anyway.
Why it spread
A job ad nobody expects gets shared by people who think it's them. Source
Guacabono
Buying anything with guacamole gave customers a chance to have up to a year's rent covered, a joke on the "avocado toast is why you can't afford a house" line.
Why it spread
It takes a generational in-joke and puts real money behind it. Source
Hijack a public thing
9 examples
Thing: [STATION / SIGN / POSTER / OBJECT] people see every day Twist: [PUN / SWAP / SOMETHING THEY CAN USE OR TAKE] Duration: [1–3 DAYS] Capture: film people noticing it
Budget: Small to big. A sticker is cheap; renaming a station is not.
Baker's Street
For its 150th anniversary, Warburtons renamed London's Baker Street station "Baker's Street", with announcements voiced by Morgan Freeman.
Why it spread
A pun on a famous place is easy to share, and the voice makes it memorable. Source
Bakerl0.0
TfL temporarily renamed the Bakerloo line "Bakerl0.0" for Heineken 0.0, with free alcohol-free beers.
Why it spread
Renaming something everyone uses is an easy photo and headline. Source
Clamp billboards
Paddy Power hijacked wheel clamps on cars across Dublin to promote its comedy festival.
Why it spread
It turns the most hated thing on a street into a joke drivers want to share. Source
Pick-your-own billboard
Before Mother's Day, Tesco turned a King's Cross billboard into a wall of real tulips commuters could pick.
Why it spread
A billboard you can take something from gets people interacting and posting. Source
Goal Posters
Carlsberg turned flyposters in UK cities into playable football goals.
Why it spread
An ad people can actually use gets played with and filmed. Source
Tear-off posters
Spotify made its street posters perforated so fans could tear one off and take it home.
Why it spread
Fans were going to take them anyway, so the brand made it part of the idea. Source
Security tray ads
AG1 put ads for its creatine product inside airport security trays in Denver, Austin and Seattle.
Why it spread
It meets people at the exact moment the problem happens: travelling with loose powder. Source
The man in the billboard
Netflix put a live performer inside a furnished billboard above Sunset Boulevard to promote The Last House.
Why it spread
A real person living in an ad makes people stop, film and check back. Source
The living billboard
For Black Friday, rugby star Joe Marler lounged with a cocktail inside a glass-fronted billboard in Shoreditch.
Why it spread
A real person inside a billboard makes commuters stop, film and post. Source
The pop-up with a twist
5 examples
Venue: a [SHOP / CAFÉ / BAR] for [1–5 DAYS] Rule: [THE ONE THING THAT'S DIFFERENT] Point: [WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT YOUR BRAND] Invite: press + local creators on day one
Budget: Small to mid. Short leases and simple builds keep it manageable.
The Markup Marché
Fake grocery stores selling everyday items at luxury prices, including a $175 banana, to call out beauty industry mark-ups.
Why it spread
It shows the brand's low-price stance instead of telling it. Source
Pie Society
While billionaires met in Davos, Oxfam ran a one-day pie shop in East London serving pies with a side of wealth-inequality facts.
Why it spread
A cheap, everyday food makes an abstract number feel real. Source
The Bike Thru
Oatly opened a drive-thru for cyclists in Amsterdam, so riders can grab a drink without getting off.
Why it spread
Redesigning a car format for bikes fits the city and the brand perfectly. Source
McSki
The world's only ski-thru McDonald's, at the Lindvallen resort in Sälen, Sweden.
Why it spread
A familiar brand in an unexpected setting keeps getting rediscovered and shared. Source
Beans for beans
A pop-up store where you could only pay with cans of beans, which were donated to a food pantry.
Why it spread
A money-free shop was a headline on its own, with a good cause built in.
How to plan a guerrilla stunt
- Start with one sentence people will repeat. If the stunt needs explaining, it won't spread.
- Pick a place your audience already passes, not a place you have to get them to.
- Check permits and rules early. Most councils and transport networks need weeks.
- Film it properly. The video reaches far more people than the stunt itself.
- Send it to press and local creators on the day, with the photo and the one-line story.
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See how it worksGuerrilla marketing examples: FAQ
What is guerrilla marketing?
Guerrilla marketing uses surprising, low-cost or unconventional tactics in public places to get attention, usually through a stunt people film and share rather than paid media.
What are some famous guerrilla marketing examples?
Burger King's Whopper Detour, Salesforce's "No Software" protest, Tourism Queensland's Best Job in the World and Cards Against Humanity's Holiday Hole are well-known examples.
Is guerrilla marketing legal?
Most of it is, but stunts on public property usually need permission. Check permits and local advertising rules before you start.
Can a small business do guerrilla marketing?
Yes. Many examples here cost little more than a sign, a sticker or a free product. Filter by Small budget.
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