Obama O's and Cap'n McCain's Campaign

In 2008, Airbnb was running on fumes - just a few thousand dollars in the bank, no investors biting, and no clear path forward. Desperate but determined, the founders knew they had to do something unconventional. So, they did the unexpected.

Instead of a traditional fundraising push, they turned to… breakfast cereal.

Yes, you read that right. These quirky collector’s items priced at $40 each turned a struggling startup into a media sensation.

• $30,000 in revenue

• Free PR from top media outlets

• A lifeline that helped Airbnb survive (and eventually become a $100B+ company)

This is a pure example of guerrilla marketing, creativity, and business survival.

What do I mean by quirky collector’s items?
And how did the brand pull this off?

Let's see.

Executive Summary

In 2008, Airbnb was a tiny, nearly broke company with less than a few thousand dollars in the bank to run regular business operations. The worried founders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, wanted to keep their dream alive. So they came up with this fun idea.

At the time, everyone talked about the Obama vs. McCain election. And the founders were like - why not make some special breakfast cereal?

And they came up with two types:

• Obama O's (like Cheerios, but with Obama's face)

• Cap'n McCain's (like Cap'n Crunch, but with McCain's face)

They didn't make many boxes but just 500 of each kind. Each box cost them about $20 to make, and they sold them for $40.

This project cost them around $20,000 to set up, which was risky since they were already low on cash. But the coolest part is that they weren't trying to become cereal makers.

This was their clever way to:

• Get people talking about their company

• Make some quick money to keep the business running

• Show investors they could think creatively

• Stand out during a time when everyone was focused on politics

Think of it like a lemonade stand, but instead of lemonade, they sold funny political cereal to save their company. It was a bit crazy, but sometimes crazy ideas are exactly what a struggling business needs.

Marketing Strategy

• Target Audience

  They went after two groups. First, they targeted young, politically active people who loved collecting unique stuff. Second, they aimed at folks who were super excited about the election and wanted to show support for their favorite candidate. This meant both Democrats and Republicans could buy their cereal!

• Brand Positioning

  They didn't try to compete with regular cereals. Instead, they made their cereal boxes feel special - more like collector's items than breakfast food. They were selling a piece of election history you could keep on your shelf.

• Pricing Strategy

  The $40 price tag was carefully chosen. It was expensive enough to make people see it as something special, not just regular cereal. But it wasn't so expensive that people wouldn't buy it. They knew their target audience would pay more for something unique and funny.

• Distribution Plan

  They kept it simple. Most sales happened through their website, but they also sold boxes at political events. They didn't try to get into grocery stores (that would have been too complicated and expensive). By selling directly to customers, they controlled and made more money per box.

• Marketing Message

  Their message was clever. They weren't just selling cereal but humor and political involvement. Each box had funny slogans for Obama O's. This made people want to share the idea with friends, and that got Airbnb free advertising.

• Timing

  They launched during the biggest political event of the year. Everyone was already talking about Obama and McCain, so their cereal naturally fit into these conversations. It's like they jumped onto a train that was already moving fast.

• Social Media and Press

  They didn't spend money on ads. Instead, they let their idea's weird and fun nature do the work. People thought it was so strange and creative that they shared it. News websites wrote about it because it was such an unusual campaign.

This whole strategy shows how you can turn a small budget into something big if you time it right and make it interesting enough for people to share.

How Did The Brand Do It?

First, they sat down and mapped everything out. They needed to get cereal, create boxes, find a place to pack everything and figure out how to ship them.

It might look simple, but there were many little details to handle, like ensuring they weren't breaking any rules about using politicians' images.

So, they started with something pretty basic.

Instead of making their own cereal, which was expensive and complicated otherwise, they bought regular Cheerios and Cap'n Crunch in bulk. This way, they only needed to repackage existing cereals in their custom boxes.

Then, the team worked on the box designs themselves and had to make them look professional but also funny. So, each box had:

• Custom cartoon drawings of the candidates

• Funny political slogans and jokes

• Nutrition facts (because it was still real food)

• A number showing which box you got (like 47/500)

• Their company website address

But the team had to overcome this complicated part:

• Get the boxes printed professionally

• Buy lots of plastic bags for the cereal

• Build a mini assembly line in their apartment

• Hand-pack each box of cereal

• Make sure everything was food-safe

• Number each box by hand

Once all was done, they sold the boxes in three main ways:

• Through their website

• At the Democratic National Convention in Denver

• Through word of mouth and direct sales

Later, they set up a simple shipping system from their apartment to make all this happen. Each order meant packing a box, printing a label, and running to the post office.

Not very high-tech, but it worked!

They couldn't afford real advertising, so they got creative.

• Emailed pictures to tech and political bloggers

• Carried boxes around the convention to get attention

• Asked friends to share on social media

• Reached out to journalists with their story

• Explained that part of the money would help fund their startup

After selling the boxes, they didn't just forget about it.

They sent thank-you emails, encouraged people to share photos with their cereal, and kept careful track of which numbered boxes went where.

They used all this attention to tell people about their main business - at the time, they were only renting out air mattresses in their apartments.

This whole thing was done on a tiny budget with just a few people - no fancy marketing teams, no big advertising campaigns, just clever thinking and hard work.

Sometimes, the best marketing doesn't come from having lots of money - it comes from having a fun idea and the guts to make it happen.

Results

• Sold all 500 boxes of Obama O's (at $40 each)

• Sold about 200 boxes of Cap'n McCain's

• Total revenue was around $30,000

• Profit was roughly $20,000 after costs

• Got featured in tech blogs and got coverage in local news outlets

• Received national press attention for the unique marketing stunt

• All this publicity was free - they didn't spend a dime on advertising

• The money helped keep Airbnb running for several crucial months

• The campaign helped them survive until they secured next funding round

• Caught the attention of Y Combinator's Paul Graham

• This led to their acceptance into Y Combinator's startup program

• Got them $20,000 in seed funding

• Helped establish connections in Silicon Valley

Conclusion

Airbnb’s Obama O’s campaign wasn’t just a fun idea. It was a brilliant execution of marketing fundamentals that any business can use.

They proved that creativity and timing can outperform a big budget.

• Find your cultural moment

• Use scarcity to drive urgency

• Turn marketing into a story

Then:

• Identify upcoming trends or events relevant to your industry

• Brainstorm a unique, limited-time offer that creates FOMO

• Craft a PR-worthy story that media and social media users would love to share

You don’t need millions in ad spend to make an impact. You only need one creative idea that captures people’s attention.

What’s your “Obama O’s” moment going to be?