Ice Cube’s a Pimp. That’s what Ice Cube imagined would be lit up on the side of the Goodyear Blimp in his single, “It Was A Good Day.” So how did four friends, a crowdsourcing campaign and the power of Twitter help make his Good Day a reality 12 years after the song’s release? Let’s start from the beginning…
January 20, 1992
According to several rappers and people who took an extra hard look into Ice Cube’s song, January 20, 1992 is the day that Ice Cube had his good day. No need to dive into logistics, but this is the day that had the highest potential for having all of the things he mentioned in the song actually happen.
February 23, 1993
The “It Was a Good Day” single is released. You can watch the video here1.
January 6, 2014
Four friends join forces to create the Good Day Blimp2 Crowdhoster site. Their goal is to persuade Goodyear to fly a Goodyear Blimp over Los Angeles with the message “Ice Cube’s a Pimp.” If Goodyear agrees the friends will donate their goal of $25,000 to a charity called A Place Called Home3, a non-profit youth center located in South Central Los Angeles to provide at-risk youth with a secure, positive family environment.
January 7, 2014
One of our social listening tools catches a Buzzfeed4 article about the Good Day Blimp campaign and we pass it along to Goodyear. While they research the cause, the Goodyear Blimp twitter handle receives hundreds of tweets asking Goodyear to fly the blimp for the sake of charity.
January 10, 2014
A CNN reporter writes an article5 about the Good Day Blimp campaign and he interviews Ice Cube, asking him what he thinks. Ice Cube responds with, “I think it’s dope” and encourages people to donate money on behalf of the charity. This nudge alone elevates the campaign to the next level.
January 15, 2014
Ice Cube appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the premiere of his new movie, ‘Ride Along.’ Jimmy asks him about the possibility of seeing “Ice Cube’s a Pimp” on a Goodyear Blimp and what that would mean to him. Ice Cube says he would love it and both of them encourage everyone watching to donate in order to make it a reality.
Goodyear sends an invitation to Ice Cube asking if he would join several children from A Place Called Home on a blimp ride commemorating an anniversary of his Good Day. We tweet the letter to Jimmy Fallon and his response6 receives 706 retweets and 1,388 favorites. Fans are just about as excited as we are to make Ice Cube’s Good Day a reality.
January 18, 2014
Ice Cube accepts7 the invitation!
January 20, 2014
Today was a Good Day. The $25,000 goal is reached, Ice Cube gets to see his name in lights and a couple kids from A Place Called Home enjoy a rare aerial tour of Los Angeles.
Overall, it’s a huge win for Goodyear, Ice Cube, A Place Called Home and everyone involved. Good Days can really happen with a hard work and a little help from the Internet.
Links:
1) Ice Cube- Today Was a Good Day Video
