The tech company’s heavy mural in London’s trendy Shoreditch district, known for its street art, used the word “VPN” 24 times without actually explaining what a virtual private network is or does. Which kind of made sense.
The thoughtful artwork was the creation of VPN provider Surfshark and graffiti art company Kingmurals, who collaborated on a PR stunt.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, create an encrypted tunnel that allows you to engage in online activities without revealing your IP address, physical location, or other personal information. CNET’s review of Surfshark states that the service “gets the job done for everyday VPN users.”
In the video, Surfshark said it tries to present VPNs as a “lifestyle” that isn’t technically intimidating, like “decoding a spaceship manual.”
The mural itself, which went up in late August, reads like a game of Mad Libs, but with just one term filling in all the gaps in the text. Here’s what it looks like in its entirety:
“If you need a VPN and that VPN should be a VPN, then you need our VPN because our VPN is a VPN, like a VPN should be a VPN. When you need a VPN, our VPN becomes a vpnest vpn, so that ever vpn. This VPN means no VPN, and it’s simply not your VPN. It is followed by the brand name Surfshark VPN.
The company posted videos on YouTube and LinkedIn showing how the mural was created, and took to social media to show the reaction from passersby in the area.
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 everyday essential, not just a technology 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 don’t usually do flashy marketing in public places. “Most VPNs that advertise tend to stick to the usual tactics, like influencer and digital marketing campaigns, which may or may not stick in people’s minds,” said Attila Tomaschek, a senior writer at CNET who covers the VPN market.
On the other hand, Surfshark’s mural could raise awareness about VPNs and digital and privacy issues in a more creative way, Tomaszek said. “It’s these provocative, thoughtful guerrilla campaigns that the company is putting together that seem to engage people and stimulate discourse about the importance of protecting your privacy online.”
Last year, the company pulled off another PR stunt in London involving an open bathroom on top of a truck to raise awareness about data privacy. It was known as the “see-through loo” experiment.
