We hid New York swag in plain sight in the form of out-of-home ad placements across the five boroughs. But, to claim it passersby had to do something “only a real New Yorker could pull off”. They had to steal an ad, literally.

We placed 181 “ads worth stealing” across the five boroughs of NYC.

Each ad was a ticket to a unique NYC experience: a JetBlue flight from JFK, tickets to NY Jets/Nets/islanders game, museum passes and more.

Once the ad was stolen, the “winner” would then redeem the item on a microsite. Underneath each pull-off poster, the bus shelter revealed a theft-proof poster, playfully letting all passersby know what happened and that they were too late to claim a prize.

On the day we posted them, we had hidden video cameras capture the antics of New Yorkers acting on their native impulses. We released the video a week later and announced that everyone had another chance to win with a whole new set of posters and prizes.

In every point of contact, we directed the conversation to #NYCTAKEOFF for those compelled to discuss, brag or complain about missing out.

Almost 66M earned media impressions in top news and trade outlets including, Fox News Online, Travel + Leisure, AdWeek and Creativity Online.

54% of the offers were redeemed in less than 24 hours.

Over 1.6M video views, 1.4K shares on social media.

The social conversation took off, inspiring proclamations of loyalty and, even more valuable from New Yorkers, respect:

“The ONLY airline I fly. JETBLUE ROCKS.” – Vashti Achan

“I hope JetBlue never never never leaves New York…love my blue.” – Ronnie Thorne