The Man Cave integrated marketing campaign immersed consumers into the world of Alltel’s four quirky sales guys, extending the popular television campaign while highlighting the benefits of Alltel and the shortcomings of other networks. By developing the characters and storyline, the campaign created a fully engaging brand universe.

The cornerstone of the campaign was OfficialManCave.com—an interactive website offering an immersive 3D tour of the characters’ “secret lair,” featuring exclusive videos, interactive games, and user-generated content. Visitors could unlock hidden rooms, discover exclusive content, and access special offers from Alltel’s online store.

The campaign generated significant press coverage from outlets including USA Today, New York Times, and Adweek, while sparking lively online conversation across blogs, forums, and social media.

Awards:

• 2008 Effie Awards: Silver David & Goliath, Bronze Telecommunications
• 2008 Webby Award: Web Honoree, Telecommunications
• 2007 FWA Site of the Day
• 2007 Mobius Awards: Silver Website

Man Cave Architecture
(first-ever Steadicam room-by-room flythrough on the internet)​

Interactive Microsite
75+ videos, games and interactive elements.
Site designed by Dustin Davis and Michael Kern. Developed by Struck.

Microsite Videos
(Written by Jeff Perreca.)

Broadcast & Digital Interruption
(throughout the campaign, the sales guys interrupted various Alltel properties)

Promotional Materials

Credits:

• Creative Leadership: Mark Simon, Iain Lanivich, Jim Millis
• Art Direction: Dustin Davis, Derek Kuschel, Adam Ball
• Copywriting: Jeff Perreca
• Producer: John Burger
• Website Production: Struck

As an extension of Alltel’s popular “Man Cave” campaign, the infamous “Sales Guys” returned with unexpected new alter egos — The Wireless Thugz — a tongue-in-cheek hip-hop persona they adopted to broadcast their over-the-top hatred for Alltel Wireless and its beloved spokesperson, Chad.

To bring this world to life, we launched an immersive MySpace experience where fans could dive deeper into the characters through bios, blogs, comments, and their breakout rap video, “Rollin’ in da Man Van.” Engagement skyrocketed with a fan contest inviting users to create and submit original songs using tracks from the Thugz’ fictional debut album, Droppin’ Lyrical Bombs on Alltel. The winning entry earned a $10,000 prize.

Serving as both a viral marketing engine and an online advertising hub, the MySpace profile funneled traffic to various Alltel properties and amplified campaign awareness. Shortly after launch, the music video surpassed 500,000 views, fueled national media attention, and sparked widespread online conversation.

“My Circle on Trial” was designed as a buzz and awareness generator for Alltel’s My Circle program, and also served as a strategic transition from the previous “Icons” campaign after a cease-and-desist order prevented further use of competitor look-alikes.

We partnered with GMD Studios to create a seven-week mock trial, pitting Alltel’s My Circle against The People Against My Circle Foundation (PAMCF) for allegedly allowing customers to add people to their Circle without consent. The campaign leveraged three websites, including MySpace, to showcase the story from the characters’ perspectives. Each site featured weekly blog updates, audio/video podcasts, courtroom testimonies, and leaked evidence. In the end, the online audience served as the jury, casting votes to decide the verdict. Campaign seeding occurred through non-branded ads on legal blogs and discussion boards, encouraging users to engage with PAMCF’s Class Action Lawsuit narrative.

Highlights:

• Coverage in the Wall Street Journal helped the campaign go viral, generating extensive media attention and online buzz across publications, blogs, and social channels
• Users spent an average of over 10 minutes per visit, engaging deeply with the content
• Websites continued to attract ~1,000 daily visitors four months post-campaign
• The campaign set the stage for Alltel’s Chad & the Sales Guys integrated branding, demonstrating early, effective use of social media for major brand storytelling