The Louvre museum is one of the world’s most prestigious art museums. It was built over 200 years ago and is located along the right bank of the river Seine in France.
It houses artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and other art pieces that hold immense cultural and historical value.
As of 2023, the Louvre houses over 500,000 objects, and among its holdings are 35,000 works of art.
The Louvre has continued to enjoy world renown, with tourists all over the world making trips to France just to visit the museum annually.
Unfortunately, this art and cultural institution hasn’t been immune from controversies, the most recent of which occurred on October 19, 2025 after a group of thieves stole eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels worth approximately EUR 88 million.
This heist took less than eight minutes to complete, with the thieves managing to enter and exit the museum without much difficulty.
As of writing, charges have been filed against five suspects, but the whereabouts of the stolen jewels remains unknown.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there…
During the investigation and the subsequent security audit, a host of security lapses were discovered. Chief among them was the use of weak passwords.
It was reported that the password that was utilized to access the museum’s security system was “Louvre.” It didn’t take long for this to go viral.
Social media users made fun of the password. News publications even seized the moment by reporting highlighting the use of “Louvre” as a password in their respective reports.
Simply said, the incident was nothing short of a national embarrassment.
… but amid all the laughter and ridicule, Leroy Merlin, a French retailer, seized this moment and used it as a springboard for a memorable campaign.
How did this play out?
The Password Heist
Leroy Merlin is a retailer that sells home improvement and gardening products in France and the rest of Europe.
Coincidentally, CCTV cameras are among the products Leroy Merlin sells across its stores.
… and since the Louvre’s theft had to do with security cameras, it made sense for Leroy Merlin to seize this moment.
The best thing about this digital guerrilla marketing stunt?
It was simple, inexpensive, and easy to deploy!
Together with creative agency BETC Fullsix, Leroy Merlin pulled off “The Password Heist” campaign, a witty and humorous take on the Louvre museum heist.
French shoppers looking for home security cameras were given a 10% discount… as long as they entered a code to claim it.
Of course, the code was LOUVRE.
That’s not all!
Leroy Merlin and BETC Fullsix drew eyeballs for this campaign by conducting a three-day social media campaign, inviting buyers to guess what the discount code is.
In line with the Louvre’s security mishap, the campaign dropped obvious hints to consumers.
Image from Josie & Eze
The Results?
The campaign was simple and cheap to execute. Yet despite that, it managed to deliver great results:
- An 80% year-over-year increase in security camera sales
- An additional EUR 200,000 in sales
Aside from those results, “The Password Heist” campaign managed to draw positive attention from the likes of D&AD.
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By recognizing and taking advantage of a unique national moment, Leroy Merlin managed to generate buzz for its brand and boost its sales in one fell swoop.
The thing is, unique moments like this are hard to come by.
So, when something similar presents itself, take a page out of Leroy Merlin’s playbook and take advantage of it!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you find this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
Cheers,
Dyane Diasanta
Senior Content Writer
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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