Handsome ransom: Temporary store uses guerilla tactics

Stockholm – An inventive promotional campaign harnesses the viral power of YouTube to advertise the opening of a pop-up store. Cult fashion designer Ann-Sofie Back released four videos on the free video-sharing website depicting her (faux) kidnapping by Anna Wintour-esque ‘terrorists’ from Swedish advertising agency We Are Group. Back, the concluding text reads, is being held hostage for her ‘crimes against fashion’.

Viral videos such as this one can be hugely successful among young, media-savvy consumers – especially for niche products or labels like Back’s. The campaign has been so successful, the designer says, that the store may even run out of merchandise before the temporary lease is up.