Change the World 9 to 5: Bullshit Bingo

JWT Melbourne has launched a TVC and an interactive website called ‘Bullshit Bingo’ as part of their commitment to changing the world.

Playing ‘Bullshit Bingo’ is one of the actions in the new book, Change the World 9 to 5, recently launched by pro-bono client We Are What We Do. You may have heard of their first publication, Change the World for Ten Bucks (or for A Fiver if you’re in the UK), that went on to become a world-wide best-seller.

Change the World for Ten Bucks contained 50 simple actions to make the world a better place. Change the World 9 to 5 contains the next 50 simple actions; this time focused on making work a better place to be.

Action #87, Play Bullshit Bingo, reads: “Tick off anything you hear in a meeting. First to complete a line wins. What is this doing in a book like this? It’s here because we believe jargon isn’t just ugly, it’s exclusive and power-based.

It’s one of the things that makes working inhuman and joyless. If you complete a whole card in one meeting, you can take your boss to the United Nations Court of Human Rights. Plus, you win a toaster and a huge fluffy orange rabbit.”

In the ad, a man is in a business meeting spouting the usual jargon, including “The bottom line”, “24/7” and “FYI”. When he says he wants to “push the envelope,” one of the meeting attendees crosses off something on his notepad, stands up and yells, “BINGO!”

“Awwww Bullshit,” say the rest of the people at the meeting.

The website, http://www.bullshitbingo.com.au allows you to watch the ad, create your own bingo cards (complete with jargon particular to your industry), as well as challenge your colleagues to an online game of Bullshit Bingo.

The team behind the ad, Fergus Donaldson and Andrew Crook, are planning to roll out a whole series of TVCs, viral campaigns and press ads to help spread the word about Change the World 9 to 5.

“We’ve been working 24/7 to value-add to the game-plan with this launch. At the end of the day, the bottom line is that we need to be able to walk the talk, set the benchmark and help people join the dots in order to make sure we’re all singing from the same song sheet when it comes to changing the world. We thought outside the box, and instead of reinventing the wheel, created a paradigm shift in the way the message was communicated. The upshot being, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. So let’s raise the flag and see who salutes,” said the team in their usual straightforward way.

Others in the agency say the team is just a couple of old bullshit artists.