The FBI’s version of a ShamWow ad

In all the hub-bub about the capture of infamous alleged mobster Whitey Bulger, my favorite quote was uttered by a Mullen colleague. Dustin Johnson, our resident media-creative director, told The Boston Herald that the PSA credited with leading to Whitey’s capture was the “FBI’s version of a ShamWow ad.”

No doubt, you’ve seen the piece. It has a reality show, America’s Most Wanted feel about it. It plays well in day-time television where DRTV is common. There’s a pretty compelling offer ($2.1 million) and a clear call-to-action. The rapid ROI on this sucker was incredible. Broke on a Monday, Whitey gets captured on Wednesday. But, perhaps the most amazing claim of all is that the tip that led to Whitey’s arrest apparently came from Iceland.  For real? Someone in Iceland saw the PSA (most likely through a news report or online) and called in the tip.  Truly amazing testament to the portability of media content in the global digital age. Congrats to the production guy and the PR lady from Maine who put this together for the Feds. Gotta believe business is booming.

Finally, congrats to the strategy team at the FBI. As Dustin told the Herald,

In advertising parlance, they ‘changed the brief,’ and it worked really fast. Instead of going after the scary gangster with the mystique you’re going after this ‘Plain Jane’ dental assistant. She’s harmless, she looks like any woman from Quincy.