This ad for the "most outrageous way to share a Coke" really got to me. Not for the cutely and infectiously enthusiastic young folks cheerleading their team through building their most outrageous contraption, or the contraption itself (OK, maybe some for the kids and the contraption), but for the way they transformed the looks on the faces of those who entered the gym—confused, concerned, baffled—into just pure delight.
While your attendees may not be able to build a Rube Goldberg-esque machine like these kids do, what could you task them with building to unveil at your conference to surprise and delight their peers? I remember ASAE a few years ago created a song and found very talented members to perform it for a recording they played at the general session, and it came pretty close. A lot of work? I don't doubt it. Worth it? Oh yeah.
(Thanks to the MeCo listserv for the link to the Coke ad.)