We launched the campaign with a mini-documentary of six-year-old Billy Lee, the world’s first advertising child prodigy with an IQ of 207. The online video shows his life, his inspirations, and his genius – leading viewers to the official Crowbar Awards website, which incidentally, has been transformed to his personal online shrine. There, students can join a fan-club full of top creative directors, bribe him from joining the Crowbars by offering him gifts or pledges, and even buy his rejected ideas on Ebay (for $1500). The organisers also followed up with a press release, announcing this year’s competition as a foregone conclusion. The campaign also created to unprecedented online chatter that includes a blogger’s plot to assassinate the precocious child prodigy. The big idea? “Beat Billy. They’re getting younger and better.”

While 4As is a not-for-profit organisation, the results of the campaign have been extraordinary in terms of growth figures. The number of participating schools shot up by 36% - including ten new schools - to reach the highest-ever in Crowbar history. Over 1,000 entries were submitted and the high quality and quantity of the entries led to a whopping 52% increase in the number of awards handed out - yielding the strongest crop of students the competition has ever produced. (Source: 4As, Sarah Tang - Marketing Communications Manager)