A flash mob is a large group of people who suddenly appear in a public place, such as a mall, to perform a dance or other type of activity before quickly dispersing. They catch passersby off guard and can be used as a form of artistic expression, satire, or simply to entertain.
Their popularity began to rise via YouTube in 2009, but they still occur quite frequently. The successful ones are passed on via social media. Increasingly, flash mobs have been used to promote events and products due to the likelihood of them going viral. If you’d like to augment your campaign with a flash mob, get in touch with us about our street teams. Below is a list of memorable flash mobs to get you inspired!
- Frozen Grand Central. This 2008 flash mob in New York is considered to have started the flash mob craze and has garnered a total of 35,614,935 views on YouTube. This flash mob involved a group of 207 people who suddenly froze (some while in the midst of eating!) in the center of Grand Central Station, much to the shock and confusion of everyone around them.
- Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus. This heartwarming flash mob in an Ontario mall is one of YouTube’s most popular flash mobs ever, with 48,308,326 views. Back in 2010, a flash mob broke out in the middle of a food court during the holiday season as a thank you to Alphabet Photography’s customers. One by one, people began to stand up from their seats and sang Handel’s “Messiah Hallelujah,” which brought smiles and Christmas cheer to everyone lucky enough to be present.
- The T-Mobile Dance. With 40,520,630 views on YouTube, T-Mobile took advantage of the popularity of flash mobs back in 2009 and used it as a form of advertisement in London, England. In Liverpool Street Station, a group of people began to do choreographed dance moves while a number of different songs played over the loudspeaker.
- The Sound of Music Antwerp. With 31,311,886 views on YouTube, this flash mob was orchestrated by a Belgian TV show to cast the leading role in their production of The Sound of Music. The flash mob involved 200 people in the Central Station of Antwerp who danced to ‘Do Re Mi,’ much to the puzzlement and wonder of passersby.
- Michael Jackson Dance Tribute. This 2009 flash mob in Stockholm, Sweden, has garnered 13,987,384 views on YouTube. A group of over 300 dancers began their choreographed dance at Sergelstorg and Central Station to some of Michael Jackson’s most popular hits as a tribute to the late, great King of Pop.