GOOGLE REVIEWS
Watching TV this week, or even listening to the radio would have resulted in you learning about a revolutionary idea in advertising from Bakers Complete. Advertisements made to target dogs (the great untapped market!). The ad is made up of high pitch whistles and barks inaudible to the human ear, but seemingly irritating dogs who visibly react when the advert comes on a TV in the vicinity.
Those among you considering this as a fun and unique marketing campaign, albeit a little pointless due to dog’s spending habits, may not have noticed the advert has succeeded in exactly what it intended to do… Make us talk about it! And we have fallen for it, hook, line and sinker. The unusual idea has sparked off this latest blog post topic about some of the most impressive and down right strange marketing stunts created specifically to get us talking and buying.
1. Scrabble
To mark the ever popular, and aging board game’s 60th birthday, the marketing team behind Scrabble compiled a number of photos of fans playing the word puzzle game in increasingly extreme conditions, culminating in two skydivers having a quick game whilst falling 13,000ft over Florida.
2. WWF
A truly thought provoking stunt came from the wildlife protection charity, who placed 1600 paper maché pandas in the centre of Paris to represent the 1600 actually left in the wild.
3. National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum, support child labour, kind of. The Railway Museum hired a 6 year old (which I’m sure isn’t legal) to be their Director of Fun, which got the museum substantial press coverage. The bosses at the museum were so impressed by the enthusiasm and application submitted by Sam Pointon, who said “I have an electric train track. I am good on my train track. I can control two trains at once” that they immediately offered him the job.
4. Pepsi
Pepsi painted the world blue. In 1996, Pepsi paid the tabloid paper The Mirror to print on blue paper (don’t attempt this campaign unless you have substantial savings) and sprayed a Concorde blue with Pepsi branding, to promote the soft drink company. In all it was a success, but the plans were criticized when rival newspapers to the mirror suggested that the 300 litres of blue paint used would stop the Concorde from reaching its supersonic top speed once in flight.
5. Dove
Dove campaign for real beauty. Dove impressively gained a lot of exposure for the skin care brand and also boosted sales up by 700% following the adoption of their real beauty campaign. Beginning in 2003, the adverts featured only ordinary women, making a real statement next to competitors who continued to use stick thin models.
6. Unicef
Unicef bring on winter. Unicef brought about an autumn leaf stunt which began in 2001 to encourage people to donate money to Afghan children in the coming winter months. 5000 autumn leaves were printed simply saying “Winter’s coming. Help the Afghan children now”. Those who found leaves were encouraged to log on to the website and donate money to the cause which saved over 10,000 children from starving in Afghanistan.
7. Virgin
Virgin balloon trip. Richard Branson has got to be the king of the PR campaign, creating a brand new ridiculous stunt each time Virgin expands its enterprise. The most spectacular being his continual endeavors within aviation, and his hair-brained scheme to circumnavigate the globe within a hot air balloon. From space suits and super models to wedding dresses and revealing a little too much, Richard Branson and Virgin are not scared to bare all in truly outrageous marketing stunts.
8. KFC
When it came to launching the new logo for KFC there seemed to be no better way than creating a logo in Area 51 in Nervada large enough to be seen from space. Well if you can, why not?
9. Travelodge
Travelodge Nativity Promise- Travelodge announced in December of 2007 that all married couples called Mary and Joseph (with proof of marriage and identity) could stay in their hotels for one night (for free) between Christmas eve and the 5th of January. They were obviously provided with a little more luxury than the original Mary and Joseph, with a room and a bed inside the building, not outside in a shed.
10. The Simpsons
The Simpsons Movie launched in 2007 and as part of the marketing campaign, Homer appeared in his underpants on a field in Dorset opposite the ancient hillside chalk drawing of Cerne Abbas Giant. Drivers of the M4 were treated to this spectacle before the movie’s launch and throughout the running time it had in the cinema.
Although these may require a substantial investment that many of us may not actually have, a marketing stunt doesn’t have to cost too much and can be a great way to get promotion and reputation within your industry.
