A TV news report of a unique problem at one local duck farm in China. The ducks at this struggling farm have started to experience flaming gaseous emissions.

It reveals later that this is actually the new Hyper-charged Spicy Duck flavoured sunflower seeds from Sunsnack.

The intriguing film we created was crafted to resemble an authentic Chinese newscast. The clip tells the story of a duck farm in rural China whose poor ducks have mysteriously begun to emit flaming gas from their behinds. The farm’s owner blames chemical pollution in the soil for the duck’s digestive issues, but Chinese government scientists disagree with his assessment. The newscast concludes with no branding, leaving viewers to wonder about the story’s origin and veracity. After a month of heavy buzz online and on TV, the film re-appeared with a different ending, promoting Sunsnack’s new “Hypercharged Spicy duck flavor.”

Within weeks, the newscast we created was watched on YouTube 500,000 times, and was seen on other websites 11,000,000 times. The clip was also discussed and shown on multiple Thai TV shows and news programs. When the brand was eventually revealed, Sunsnack had earned 32,989,000 Baht in free media publicity. Thai teens embraced the brand as the coolest in its category, and Sunsnack gained 20,000 new fans on Facebook. “Flaming Duck” became one of 2012’s most popular slang phrases in Thailand, meaning “Superb”, according to one Thai teen magazine.

Sales for Sunsnack have risen by 65% since the campaign’s launch.