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Library/Campaign/REI #OptOutside
Grade B21 sourcesHIS-00477

REI #OptOutside

Campaign · 2015 · Notable

49Editable slideCertificate

REI closed on Black Friday; Sprout reported 156,000 hashtag uses in the 2015 campaign.

Company Signs
TIME
REI wants you to skip Black Friday, "Opt Outside"
CBS News
Retail Signs
TIME
Social Spotlight: REI’s #OptOutside and how a campaign becomes a movement
Sprout Social

Spread Score

How it works
Reach67Contagion35Breadth60Velocity65Longevity449

Numbers

2015 media impressions, entrant-reported; potential reach
6.7B
As of May 2, 2016 · Press · Self-reported · SABRE Awards entrant case via WARC
Seed to peak
5 weeks
Oct 26 ’15 to Nov 27 ’15
Platforms
6
Started on Open web
Origin
Mixed
Retail

Mechanics

  • TransgressionPrimary
  • Challenge
  • Shareable output
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

REI announced a paid Black Friday closure and invited people to share outdoor plans. Twitter users, retailers and parks took part. Paid advertising and employee advocacy supported the launch. REI made the closure permanent in 2022.

Google searchesJul ’15NovDecApr ’16JulNovJan ’18DecFeb ’20DecJan ’22NovPeakOpen webPressXTVRedditRetail
Open webPressXTVRedditRetail

13 more events on this chart

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Timeline (16)

  1. October 2015

    REI seed · Oct 26 ’15

    REI emailed members its closure announcement and launched a site for sharing outdoor plans.[1][2]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. TIME press · Oct 26 ’15

    TIME reported that REI would close on Black Friday and pay employees to take the day off.[3]

    Company Signs

  3. Twitter users platform jump · Oct 27 ’15

    Topsy counted more than 3,000 #OptOutside tweets in a day, according to Digiday.[6]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 2 numbers · Revised 3 numbers
  2. 2026-10-15Fact-check passed (39 claims)
  3. 2026-10-14Added 3 events · Revised 13 events · Added 5 sources · Archived 13 sources · Revised 12 numbers · Removed 5 numbers · Added 1 series · Added 1 evidence check · Mechanics revised · Summary rewritten · Read rewritten
  4. 2026-10-13Added: 13 events, 15 sources · Score 49
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Retail
Region
US
2015 media impressions, entrant-reported; potential reach
6.7B
As of May 2, 2016 · Press · Self-reported · SABRE Awards entrant case via WARC
Evidence
Grade B

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Extra Gum: The Story of Sarah & Juan

YouTube · 2015

46
A two-minute love story told through gum-wrapper drawings, set to Haley Reinhart’s Elvis cover.

1.3B impressions

McDonald's UK: Raise Your Arches

YouTube · 2023

46
Edgar Wright’s office workers invited colleagues to McDonald’s by raising their eyebrows to Yello’s Oh Yeah.

4.4M impressions

Hilton: The Ad You Stay In

TikTok · 2023

39
Unexpected & amazing things can happen when you stay, and we want you to stay with us for 10 minutes. Yup, we made a 10-minute TikTok AND we’re giving away 10M Hilton Honors Points + more.…

35.7M views

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Google searchesJul ’15NovDecApr ’16JulNovJan ’18DecFeb ’20DecJan ’22NovPeakOpen webPressXTVRedditRetail
Open webPressXTVRedditRetail

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. October 2015

    REI seed · Oct 26 ’15

    REI emailed members its closure announcement and launched a site for sharing outdoor plans.[1][2]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. TIME press · Oct 26 ’15

    TIME reported that REI would close on Black Friday and pay employees to take the day off.[3]

    Company Signs

  3. Twitter users platform jump · Oct 27 ’15

    Topsy counted more than 3,000 #OptOutside tweets in a day, according to Digiday.[6]

  1. platform jump · Oct 27 ’15

  2. backlash · Nov 13 ’15

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

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Pro opens the playbook, all 15 sourced numbers and 21 sources. Start with a free account.

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