Debonairs Pizza Loses Its Head

If you were asked to compile a list of engaging digital initiatives from brands that typically live in the traditional media space, chances are you’d add ‘Headless Deliveryman’ created for Debonairs Pizza by FCB Joburg to celebrate Halloween to that list.

Brainchild of FCB Joburg’s Creative Director Mbeu ‘Snooze’ Kambuwa, Art Director Nicola Bower, Copywriter Stefan Schutte and Digital Creative Strategist Kyle Duckitt, the campaign lived for just two days (October 31, November 1) on Facebook and Twitter.

It kicked off with 30-second clips of guerilla-style content to generate hype around the ‘Headless Man’. Within hours #headlessman was trending in South Africa. This was followed up with a ‘reveal’ video, which showed that #headlessman was a stunt done by Debonairs Pizza in the fun spirit of Halloween.

“#headlessman allowed Debonairs Pizza to enter the Halloween conversation on social media in a way that’s organic and palatable for those in its target market who utilise the media often,” said FCB Joburg’s Creative Director Mbeu ‘Snooze’ Kambuwa.

“It was a proactive idea, and I’m so pleased the client said ‘yes’. Not only were the results in terms of numbers really good, the conversations around Debonairs Pizza in the chosen media are exactly what we hoped would be sparked.

“In total, #headlessman was viewed 151 714 times in 48 hours with 2 156 shares and 3 945 likes. Not bad for a brand that has a stronger traditional media presence versus digital,” he quipped.