P. Diddy’s latest addition to his label, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, earned his name as a bad boy artist over the weekend. According to Billboard.com, Kelly and his group attempted to bring the “rage,” flash mobbing, to his hometown of Cleveland. He organized a Strongsville mall flash mob via Twitter with his 70,000-plus followers and encouraged them to dress in disguises. The plan for him to crowd surf amongst his fans in the food court was quickly shut down after he was arrested for disorderly conduct for standing on tables by the second floor railing before he could accomplish surfing the crowd.
Kelly was able to get well over 100 fans there, which made the flash mob fairly large. With intentions to have fun in costumes while fans celebrated his homecoming, he has added his name among several other flash mobs designed to have a good time and celebrate. In addition to a mass party surpassing 100 people, most of these flash mobs were meant to gain popularity for the person or brand. Here are the top three fun flash mobs comprising over 100 people.
New York Welcomes Wells Fargo Flash Mob
Just like Machine Gun Kelly created a flash mob for his welcome home party, Wells Fargo put on a flash mob in Times Square in April to celebrate the company’s New York roots. This fun mob’s headcount also topped 100 dancers and, just like Kelly’s flash mob, it was a great publicity stunt with online views close to 2 million.
Besides a location with high traffic, Wells Fargo began the surprise dance-off with people banging on trash cans to spark attention. The routine then displayed dancers who wore green and blue shirts until they ripped them off to uncover red shirts. This shirt change symbolized Wells Fargo’s takeover of Wachovia Bank, adding more intrigue to the gathering.
Multi-City Flash Mob 2011
This Estee Lauder flash mob from July has much in common with the latest attempt by Machine Gun Kelly. Not only did it have over 100 people dancing, but it was spread across three major U.S. cities: New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. By picking popular locations, the corporation was able to reach many people with its branding message. The flash mob was formed to celebrate and promote a new Estee Lauder product, New Idealist Even Skin tone, but also shows the branding power Kelly was trying to recreate. The mob showcased light teal and white shirts that told a story through dance.
Holiday Food Court Flash Mob
With over 100 participants spreading cheer, this December 2010 holiday flash mob is an instant classic. Delighting surprised shoppers with song in a packed mall, this group’s size and location mirror that of Kelly’s mob. While this crowd was celebrating the birth of Jesus, the rapper’s fans were chanting “MGK” to celebrate his presence. The food court mob began as a single lady singing until more and more people joined her to form a choir that echoed throughout the mall.