The text-filled mural of a technology company in the trendy London neighborhood Shoreditch The area, known for its street art, used the word “VPN” 24 times without actually explaining what a virtual private network is or does. That was the point.
The eye-catching artwork was the creation of VPN provider Surfshark and graffiti company KingMurals, who collaborated on a PR stunt.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, create an encrypted tunnel that allows you to conduct online activities without exposing your IP address, physical location, or other personal information. CNET’s review of Surfshark notes that the service “gets the job done for casual VPN users.”
In a video, Surfshark said it was trying to present VPNs as a “lifestyle” that isn’t technically daunting, like “decoding a spaceship manual.”
The mural itself, which lasted one day in late August, reads like a game of Mad Libs, but with a single term filling in all the gaps in the text. Here it is in its entirety:
“If you need a VPN, and that VPN needs to be a VPN, then you need our VPN, because our VPN does VPN like a VPN should be VPN. When a VPN is needed, our VPN becomes the most VPN ever created. Our VPN makes other VPNs question your VPN, if your VPN does it the way VPNs should. So get the VPN, because not getting this VPN means not getting a VPN at all, and that’s not very VPN of you. Just get it. It’s a VPN.” It is followed by the Surfshark VPN brand.
The company published videos on YouTube and LinkedIn showing how the mural was created and taken to social media to show reactions of passersby.
Unconventional VPN Marketing
The mural was created to raise awareness about VPNs.
“As people become more aware of cybersecurity and privacy, we want VPNs to be seen as an essential everyday tool rather than a purely technological tool. With this campaign, we wanted to remove the complexity and show that choosing a VPN doesn’t have to be difficult or intimidating,” said Regimantas Urbanas, Chief Marketing Officer at Surfshark.
VPNs are not typically the subject of flashy marketing in public places. “Most VPNs that are advertised typically stick to conventional tactics like digital and influencer marketing campaigns that may or may not stick in people’s minds,” said CNET senior writer Attila Tomaschek, who covers the VPN market.
The Surfshark mural, on the other hand, can raise awareness about VPNs and digital privacy issues in a more creative way, Tomaschek said. “It’s these provocative and thought-provoking guerilla campaigns that the company puts together that really seem to engage people and stimulate discourse about the importance of protecting privacy online.”
Last year, the company pulled off a different PR stunt in London involving an exposed bathroom on top of a trailer truck to raise awareness about data privacy. It became known as the “Transparent Bath” experiment.