To show how comfortable Contours strollers are for babies, FCB Chicago created “The Stroller Test Ride by Contours,” featuring adults riding around in giant strollers.
The stunt is introduced in the case study video below as a solution to the problem of not being able to tell if babies are actually comfortable in their strollers since they can’t, you know, talk.
We’re not sure this is an actual problem, because, while we’re not parents, we’re pretty sure babies can and do cry to communicate when they’re unhappy about something and that if a stroller is comfortable enough they’ll fall asleep in it, which seems like the only measure of comfort you really need. But FCB Chicago and Contours really want to show you that their strollers are the most comfortable, so they created giant replicas, put adults in them and took them on outings.
They killed two birds with one stone: testing out their products and inspiring predictably perplexed glances from passers-by.
“The problem with shopping for baby strollers is that babies can’t tell you how they ride or feel, and parents can’t fit into them. We solved the problem. Now parents can shop informed,” claims FCB CCO Todd Tilford.
The volunteers, of course, all seem to attest to the comfort of the giant stroller. Viewers are meant to draw the conclusion that this is because Contours makes the most comfortable strollers…
Setting aside the differences between adults and babies and the assumption that what’s comfortable in a giant replica for an adult is necessarily the same for a baby, there’s still the issue that there’s nothing to compare the Contours replica with, and we’re guessing that these volunteers don’t remember their last stroller experience as a point of reference.
The most important point: we really wish they hadn’t asked that one guy to suck his thumb.
CREDITS
Agency: FCB Chicago
Todd Tilford: Chief Creative Officer
Max Geraldo: SVP, Executive Creative Director
John Bleeden: SVP, Executive Creative Producer
Gustavo Dorietto: VP, Creative Director
Sue Salvi: Writer
Megan Kellie: Writer
Tim Mason: Writer
Todd Durston: Writer
Kelley Varga: Senior Producer
Hollie Platte: SVP, Management Director
Robert Stockwell: Director
Lauren Walker: Producer
Ira Amyx: Prop Fabricator
Jay Neander: Prop Fabricator