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Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City.

I loved the idea. Can’t imagine how much fun they had!

“For our latest mission, over 2,000 people walked “invisible dogs” down the streets of Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon. The leashes were on loan from the current owner of 51 Bergen Street, the factory space where the invisible dog toy was invented in the 1970s. Participants of all ages spread out from Red Hook to Brooklyn Heights, very seriously walking their very silly dogs.

About a month ago I got an email from Keith Schweitzer from No Longer Empty. The group transforms vacant spaces into public art exhibitions and had an exhibition coming up in an abandoned factory in Brooklyn. He told me there were over 2,000 invisible dog leashes collecting dust on a shelf and wondered if I would like to put them to use. Yes, please.

The factory space served as our meeting point. It’s an incredibly cool spot, and it was fun knowing that the leashes we would be using were created right there in the 1970s. The building was recently bought by a French artist, who is converting it into an art space. It’s tough to say exactly how many participants showed up. We had over 3,000 RSVPs, and the crowd was so large that we filled up the giant warehouse and then had an enormous line of people waiting to get in winding around the block. I think it’s safe to say more than 2,000 showed up. Thankfully, we had enough leashes for everyone.

All of the participants showed up having no idea what they would be doing. I gave a quick talk explaining the history of the building and what the mission would entail, and then we passed out the leashes. Everyone was just told to spread out and go on a walk for an hour or so, behaving as if they were walking an actual dog.”

“The best reactions came from those who played along and Yes Anded us. Lots of people really got into it and stopped to join the fun. “Oh what breed is he?” “Can I pet him?” “He’s so cute!”

“There were lots of kids on the streets, and it was fun to see their reactions. Several parents played along, and some kids were a little confused when their mom or dad claimed to see the dog as well.”

“The most fun part of the mission was running into real dogs. I think it’s the first time we’ve ever confused animals during an Improv Everywhere mission. I loved seeing their reactions.”

“Some establishments did all they could to attract the dogs and their owners into spending their money.”

“Picking up invisible poop. Of course, dog ownership is not all fun and games.”

“Chasing pigeons.”

“Going in two directions.”

“Agent Lathan was a dog walker.”

“After a couple of hours, agents started slowly returning to the meeting point to turn in their leashes. Many were sad to tell their invisible dogs goodbye. It was really fun to do a mission that was so spread out, both in time and in space. It felt like we really blanketed the whole neighborhood with our silliness.”

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They’ve done it again. Another very funny video from the improveverywhere crew. This is ‘Where’s Rob‘, and it demonstrates how people can band together to get behind a common cause. Rob was the cause in question. It was improveverywhere’s cause to get people to notice that Rob couldn’t find his seat, and it became the crowds’ cause to get Rob back to his seat. Very funny stuff.

My exciting news is that I am going to be in New York in late January and then head to Philadelphia to Educon 2.2, thanks to SLAV and the money that came with the John Ward Award! I’ve actually left a comment on the improveverywhere blog asking if they can do a mission during the time I am there so that I can participate. I’ve even offered to be the subject of the prank! People who know me, know that it is a dream of mine to get to New York. Well, I’m going to fulfill that dream and would be so thrilled if I could fulfill another dream and participate in an improveverywhere mission. So, Charlie Todd, if you’re listening, I’m more than game!

Correction’s all done, reports are finished, might even get time to write a few long overdue blog posts.  Or maybe the house will finally get some much needed attention!

Whatever comes your way this weekend, make the most of it. : )

Ahora vemos un video hecho en la torre Trump en Nueva York donde unos individuos se ponen a cantar en a la hora de la comida. y varias personas (actores también) se les unen.

Observen la cara de las personas que no estaban incluidas en el musical.

Increíble video de como 200 personas son organizadas por “Improv EveryWhere” para “congelarse” durante 5 minutos en la estación Grand Central en la ciudad de Nueva York

When I first started School’s out Friday posts I discovered improveverywhere. They have been a constant source of fodder for these posts, and I’ve been able to see the evolution of a great idea turning into a financial proposition.

This latest video ‘I love lunch‘, was filmed for the US Today Show and has Ann Curry appearing in a cameo role. Improveverywhere have recently released ‘Causing a scene‘, a book about their exploits. I picked up a copy for our school library. They are certainly becoming more mainstream and it will be interesting watching their growth in the next year or so. I can feel a commercial media deal coming on!

Today, for me, was one of those days where you reflect on life.  I attended the funeral of a former colleague from a previous school. I’m reflecting because Pam’s life was cut short just when retirement was looming, along with plans for travel and spending time with young grandchildren.  What was inspiring about the day was the turn-up of her former work colleagues to pay their respects. Pam was our school receptionist; she had impeccable phone manners and a smile for all who crossed her path. The school was not an easy one, some of the kids were difficult and the staff needed to be united. We were a real community and you could feel that today. Pam would have loved being a part of it.

So, do something that makes you feel good this weekend. Enjoy life. I’ll try to as I put together a presentation about ‘Getting started with Web 2.0′ this weekend for the VITTA conference on Monday. Wish me luck with that one!

Those crazy kids at ImprovEverywhere are at it again, this time with “I Love Lunch! The Musical”. Check it out for your listening (and lunchtime) pleasure. Keep an eye out for the special guest, Ann Curry, who announces proudly that she’s eating… clam chowder! (Bet you thought I was going to say, curry! Well no. It’s clam chowder.)

Check out other ImprovEverywhere sketches at http://improveverywhere.com.

Posted by: Leah, who’s eating Potbelly’s for lunch

I can’t wait to show my son this latest effort from the improveverywhere crew. This is Grocery Store Musical. My son is a huge fan of Food Court Musical and I am too. I don’t think this one lives up to the quality of Food Court Musical, but it’s still worth watching and raises a smile.

Been a busy week for me. Camp all week, writing a blog from there for parents, and today I was the recipient of the John Ward Award from the School Library Association of Victoria. I’ll write more about that over the weekend. Pretty worn out right now and in need of a sleep-in!

Have a great weekend. Hot one coming Melbourne’s  way.

One blurry night out last year I ended up at my friend’s apartment playing dress up. I noticed a pair of bright red leather clown shoes and straight away laced them on. It was only on closer inspection that I noticed the shoes were a limited edition line from iconic skate shoe company Vans. I couldn’t help thinking why a well-known brand would release a product that was costly to produce and almost-certainly difficult to push. My friend replied, “For joy.” My heart warmed. It got me thinking about other ‘joyous’ brand endeavours which don’t appear to generate any immediate payoffs, but do work to cheer and inspire onlookers.

During my time in the US I was lucky enough to interview Charlie Todd, creator and chief prankster of ImprovEverywhere. In his modest apartment Todd discussed the ins and outs of “causing chaos and joy in public places”. With its beginnings in 2001 impersonating Ben Folds in a bar, to having over 41,000 people worldwide pledging their time to Todd’s cause; it seems pranks are a serious business.

Volkswagon’s The Fun Theory is one example of ‘joyous’ branding. Under the simple premise of changing people’s behaviour by making the tedious seem fun, Volkswagon moved people to use the stairs, recycle their bottles and put their rubbish in the bin.

Although it may be difficult to identify an obvious correlation between small pranks and a huge corporation, joyous branding is possibly one of the most effective tools for building a positive brand identity.

O vídeo abaixo é mais uma das produções do grupo ImprovEverywhere, já mostrado aqui no Blog na postagem “Vídeo do Dia – Brincando de Estátua na Estação Central“. O mais bacana na produção desses caras é a cara das pessoas que estão no local.

Abraços a todos,

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Flashmobs are old… still cool though. Created by Improveverywhere.

These tridents are really good. Try it. (did not get paid for this mention).

ImprovEverywhere is at it again, this time at a grocery store:

Check out another similar “project”, this time with Julie Andrews at the

Antwerp Train Station.

Uite, in proiecte de genul asta mi-ar placea sa fiu implicata. Tipii de la ImprovEverywhere sunt bestiali. “Jos palaria!” Pentru mai multe clipuri faine, intrati pe channel-ul lor.

Vroiam initial sa postez cate un clip si sa scriu dedesubt comentariile care ar aparea in caz ca toate acestea ar avea loc in Romania… dar m-am gandit ca stric toata atmosfera, asa ca ma abtin. : ) )

©Lorena. Youtube.

Sau oricum..nu în Bucureşti. Ar fi amuzant ca în fiecare dimineaţă pe la Unirii să fie cineva care să-ţi trezească un zâmbet. Mă întreb dacă oamenii ar răspunde la noi la aşa ceva:

Şi dacă tot veni vorba, uite nişte oameni care îţi schimbă ziua : Improveverywhere

ImprovEverywhere makes my day…

Notice the apple-sized hole cut into the pineapple…LOL

Now I feel so inspired :O

The team over at ImprovEverywhere.com have just released a new video where they perform a spontaneous musical number in the fruit section of an American supermarket.The reaction of the guy at the end is hilarious, summing it up perfectly. “They just totally turned it into a musical. Life – they turned life into a musical!”

Last month the website also set up a fake yearbook photo studio on an actual subway train in Manhattan. They told subway riders that they were told by the MTA (Metropolitan Transport Agency) to take all of their pictures to compile them in a yearbook at the end of the year. Even though there won’t actually be a yearbook (to my knowledge…), the results are hilarious and also really nice. Someone should stick one on a Dublin Bus and see what happens…

Kapcsolódik:

Ezt nevezem “Flash Mob”-nak!

Flash Mob Stockholmban

Flash Mob a Trafalgar téren

Some of you may remember a few years ago when greater Christendom was up-in-arms about Abercrombie and Fitch’s semi-nude models and blatant promotion of teenage sex.

Boycotts were pronounced from pulpits all over this country, James Dobson even jumped on the bandwagon, calling their catalogs “pornographic”. In the major cities, male models are paid to stand in the doorway, enticing onlookers with the subliminal message, “buy here and you’ll have abs like me.”

What if, rather than boycotts, we fought fire with fire. What if we got all the men together in our congregation after church one Sunday and had them take off their shirts and walk into an Abercrombie store. Could they really kick us out when they pay an employee to take his shirt off as well? I’m sure the vision of 111 shirtless Nazarenes wouldn’t entice anyone to shop in their store, but may send teens running for the exits.

That’s (almost) exactly what ImprovEverywhere did.

Here’s a new improveverywhere mission. This time they throw a surprise wedding for a couple who have just married at a New York registry office. You can see this couple had a memorable day – probably far more memorable than they had first anticipated!

Enjoy the weekend and whatever it brings your way.  : )

Sedan ett antal år tillbaka finns det ett modernt fenomen kallat flash mobs. Vanliga människor, ofta organiserade via internet gör något oväntat som överraskar omgivningen för att senare försvinna i folkvimlet lika snabbt som de dök upp. Det är en genial idé, och otroligt fascinerande, och ja.. kanske spännande.

Den kanske mest kända videon av ImprovEverywhere:

Den här är en reklam egentligen men ändå lika rolig med allt från gamla tanter till suits från finanskvarteren:

Hela plattan dansar:

Här är dansgruppen Bounces officiella video, med klipp från Stureplan samma kväll.

Flash mobs skulle man kunna kalla rörlig konst. Tänk att allt fler och fler människor, mitt i ett folkmyller, en helt vanlig dag börjar dansa, sjunga, knäppa med fingrarna, stanna upp eller vad som helst. Det är imponerande, det är överraskande och det får en att förundras över människor. Nää, jävlar i min lilla skobox, man borde lägga till rörlig konst till “the fine arts”. Det här är fan konst.
Fan vad jag älskar konst.