How does an advertising agency promote itself to people who don’t care about advertising? Armed with a printer, shredder and our own cynicism, McKinney was able to do just that by hijacking one of the most commercialized holidays in the world — Valentine’s Day.

While most brands were busy inundating people with chocolate and roses, we provided relief from all the nauseatingly mushy Valentines campaigns by appealing to a different group. Singles.

In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, McKinney created a live online event inviting everyone to “Shred Your Ex.”

Users could simply tweet or Instagram pictures of their ex and watch them print directly into our commercial-grade shredder in real time on ShredYourEx.tv. In doing so, we were able to introduce McKinney to the world.

How does an advertising agency promote itself to people who don’t care about advertising? By hijacking one of the most commercialized holidays in the world — Valentine’s Day.

For hundreds of millions of single adults, February 14th is just a constant reminder of their ex.

In the past, Valentine’s Day was the perfect opportunity for the bitter and brokenhearted to burn or rip old pictures of past flames. But these days, everyone’s pictures are digital, and simply “deleting” them doesn’t offer the same satisfaction as physically destroying them.

It was time to show singles some love.

The idea took the Internet by storm, garnering 197 million PR impressions with a budget of just $5,000. Tens of thousands of visitors from 114 countries around the world participated, spending an average of 2.5 minutes on the site, which eventually landed at #3 on the front page of Reddit. One user called it “Brilliant.” Another said it “Wins Valentine’s Day.” And in the end, McKinney became synonymous with creativity.

The best advertising is always relevant and far-reaching. McKinney was able to achieve both by hijacking one of the most commercialized holidays of the year.

The promotion took place in the five days leading up to Valentine’s Day on the website ShredYourEx.tv. It ran according to plan, peaking at #3 on the front page of Reddit the night of Valentine’s Day.