Flash mobs might be more recent than you think.
According to Wikipedia, the flash mob, as we know it, first occurred in a Manhattan Macy’s store in 2003. The creator, Bill Wasik, put the mob together by sending emails to 50 people. Of course, the number grew as more than 100 people participated in the routine.
Wasik has said that he created flash mobs as a social experiment made to poke fun of hipsters. Ultimately, he wanted to highlight the ridiculousness of conformity.
However, it seems that the plan sort of backfired as many people that Wasik would surely call “hipsters” partake in the mobs themselves. In addition, flash mobs have since become quite common.
Needless to say, it wasn’t long before flash mobs were seen around the world. And today, they’re still going strong.
In 2015, a successful flash mob in Sydney, Australia took place. The song of choice for this particular group is none other than that years mega hit, “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson.
It’s the perfect choice because it’s funk, disco, pop, and soul all rolled up into one upbeat song. You’d be hard-pressed not to see someone dancing when this song comes on.
The video begins with people walking along the well-known Sydney Harbor. There isn’t a massive crowd but there are a good number of people enjoying the sun.
Suddenly, the music starts. Ironically, not many people seem to notice that anything odd is happening. That is, until a young man in a black t-shirt approaches another in a red t-shirt.
The two immediately start break dancing. They certainly have the attention of the onlookers now.
But then, more people appear from the corners of the screen to partake in a choreographed dance routine.
More and more dancers join in as the routine progresses. Of course, they’re all wearing everyday attire to blend in so you’d never guess who was going to jump in next.
One man is wearing a complete business suit which is undoubtedly a sacrifice. There are quite a few people in shorts, tanks, and t-shirts on the harbor that day.
Sometimes you just have to take one for the team!
And what a team they turned out to be. Not only do they have the routine down, they genuinely seem to be having fun with one another out there.
Oddly though, they don’t seem to capture the attention of passersby as other flash mobs have in the past. For instance, a jogger appears throughout the video and instead of taking a moment to watch the performance, they continue jogging with their headphones on.
Still, there are some onlookers who watch from the sidelines.
Nevertheless, the group never loses their spunk or smiles. And for good reason…
Though flash mobs still occur around the world, the reasons they occur varies. Aside from allowing people to have fun by randomly dancing in a crowded space, they, like many things nowadays, are used as marketing strategies.
In fact, this flash mob was used a marketing strategy. According to Thrill, a company organized the flash mob with the goal of going viral.
They definitely succeeded as the video has been viewed over 9 million times!
It turns out the dancers were part of a campaign for CrazyDomains, a domain hosting site.
At the end of the video, the dancers finish the performance by handing out flyers and t-shirts to onlookers.
The marketing plan might have been subtle in the beginning but it was clear by the end.
Regardless, the routine looked fun and seemed to succeed in its goal!
You can watch the full energetic performance below! But beware, dancing is a side effect.
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