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Many companies have been integrating their campaigns into the environment in a technique called street marketing. The term was first coined by Marcel Saucet, a professor at the University of San Diego and Harvard. Companies like McDonald’s, Pepsi, and HBO have taken the lead in this marketing movement.

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“Street marketing is an effort to connect with jaded consumers in a more authentic, creative way,” said Marty Ordman, a veteran consumer products and goods marketer. “It’s really more about branding than marketing, per se, though the best street marketing meshes message, form and function in a way that communicates elegantly and concisely, often without a word being spoken.”

“The best street marketing meshes message, form and function … often without a word being spoken.”

He pointed to the Pepsi campaign in which a can of the soft drink is placed next to a rival. One straw dives into the Pepsi and the other splays out, as if terrified to take the plunge.

“That’s classic street marketing,” Ordman said. “It’s funny, edgy, elegant — yet it gets the point across.”

Consumers can discount marketing hype — the greatest, the best and even “heavenly” — and that’s where street marketing comes in. It seeks to circumvent the inevitable cynicism. A University of Georgia study revealed an aspect of human psychology that points to new ways of approaching the marketing equation.

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In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, a team led by Vanessa Patrick, an assistant professor at UGA’s Terry College of Business, found that people take notice when they feel worse than they thought they would, but — oddly — not when they feel better than expected.

Street marketing raises awareness without necessarily raising expectations.

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“A number of marketers hype their product by using words like, ‘best ever’ or ‘the ultimate experience,’ to get customers to buy,” Patrick said. “But you don’t survive with a customer buying something once. Satisfaction, repeat purchases and positive word of mouth are very important. Our study suggests that too much hype can be detrimental.”

Street marketing raises awareness without necessarily raising expectations. It piques interest without promising peak experiences.

What exactly are street marketing campaigns?

The best way to tell is to show, so here are our 15 favorite marketing ideas from around the world. (Click on each photo to see the story behind the ad.)