---
id: fedex-stolen-idea-2006
title: "Stolen Idea"
brand: FedEx
year: 2006
country: US
region: north_america
industry: b2b
pattern: [P11, P02]
category: film
idea_type: execution
involvement: passive_view
channel: hybrid
duration: campaign
goal: [awareness, engagement]
budget: medium
emotion: [ironic_sincerity]
emotion_tier: 3
insight_domain: fear
media_epoch: tv_first
awards: [unknown]
quality_score: 6
scalability: universal
risk: edgy
confidence: medium
quality: stub_enriched
source_url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNCrMEOqHpc
---

# Stolen Idea (FedEx · 2006)

## Insight
Business culture runs on ideas — but ideas without execution are worthless. FedEx's comedy spots operated in the territory of business absurdism: what happens when things go wrong because someone didn't use FedEx.

## Mechanic
An absurdist comedy spot (P11) showing the consequences of an idea being "stolen" — likely within a corporate context — as a comedic demonstration of why reliable delivery matters. The enemy mechanic (P02) operates implicitly: unreliable logistics is the villain.

## Why it worked
FedEx's long-running campaign of office comedy spots (including the famous "caveman" and "Monday" ads) established a register of knowing, wry business humor. "Stolen Idea" extends this territory. The absurdism is grounded in recognizable business anxiety, making it specific enough to resonate with the B2B audience.

## Steal
B2B humor works when it targets the specific anxieties of the business audience — not generic workplace comedy but the precise fears (credit-stealing, unreliable systems, missed deadlines) that business people experience daily.

## Related
- Pattern: [[../MOC-pattern.md#p11]]
- Sibling: [[metro-trains-dumb-ways-to-die-2012.md|Dumb Ways to Die]]
- Sibling: [[old-spice-man-your-man-could-smell-like-2010.md|The Man Your Man Could Smell Like]]
- Emotion match: [[absolut-absolut-campaign-1981.md|Absolut _____]]

---

*Author: Serge Shima ([t.me/aimastersme](https://t.me/aimastersme) · [sergeshima.com](https://sergeshima.com) · [aimasters.me](https://aimasters.me)) · License: CC BY 4.0 — attribution required · Source: [smixs/creative-director-skill](https://github.com/smixs/creative-director-skill)*