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Spotted! 'Bobwheelers' stop traffic in Vancouver

While the bobsled in downtown Vancouver may have fit right in with the city's heady Games vibe this week, passersby looking a little closer might have noticed something a little odd about it: instead of skis, it was moving on wheels.

The "Bobwheelers" stunt was an effort by BC-based Offsetters, a carbon offsets supplier that helps companies and individuals reduce their climate impact, and its AOR, Rethink Communications. The goal was to demonstrate to the public what the Olympic Winter Games would be like if there wasn't enough snow to compete on.

The Bobwheelers duo - helmed by brothers Chris and Shane Nielsenheimer from Kelowna - toured in a square around Robson and Granville streets in the city core, attracting no shortage of stares, photo requests and general curiosity, Kari Grist, VP marketing and client engagement, Offsetters, tells MiC.

"I'm ecstatic," she says, in a cell-phone interview with MiC while the bobwheelers toured around nearby. "We've been out since 11, and the bobwheelers have been stopped by tourists from around the world, by media from around the world and local media. Everyone wants to engage, have a conversation, have their picture taken with the bobwheelers, or ask ‘What are you doing?'"

The stunt is part of a "Without Winter, There's No Winter Games" campaign building on the company's Olympic sponsorship . Offsetters is the first-ever "Official Carbon Offsetter" of an Olympic Games, and it's promoting this with a print buy, not yet confirmed, and postering in various venues. It also includes a website, Bobwheeling.com, and interactive features built into the Offsetters.ca website, which include carbon calculators and carbon-offset purchases. The bobwheelers also have a Facebook and Twitter presence for fans to follow them around.

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