12 Crazy Publicity Stunts That Worked

  • 6 years ago
From Taco Bell renaming the Liberty Bell to the Red Bull marketing stunt that pulled off the highest skydive gaining incredible attention\r
\r
Subscribe to Talltanic \r
\r
5. Dodge Tomahawk\r
The Dodge Tomahawk was a concept car that was introduced by the American motor company at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. The concept car was a motorcycle that looks like a chrome version of Batmans motorcycle in The Dark Knight. The car company made claims that the motorcycle would be able to reach top speeds of 300 to 420 miles per hour. The claims were debunked by various motorcycle and automotive media sources. Three people bought the car, but since it isnt street legal its been called, “Rolling Sculpture”. The power and style of the car ended up creating a massive brand boost which some speculate was the intention of the car, to begin with. It helped push Dodge past what people tend to think when the brand crosses their mind which is comp cars and minivans.\r
\r
4. Guinness Bottle Drop\r
The Guinness bottle drop is one of the most famous and genius marketing stunts in history. In 1954, the famous beer company dropped 50,000 of their bottles into the ocean at various points around the world that included a message inside the bottle. The message had a number and an encouragement to give the message and the date and place of the find. In return, the company gave the finders a personal message and a small collectors prize. Thousands were found and the event was such a success that they did another bottle drop on the 50th anniversary of the company. In the second event, they increased the bottle drop to 150,000 and bottles are still being found to this day. The event understandably caused some criticism from environmentalists, but that didnt stop it from being regarded as one of the most famous out-of-the-box marketing events in history.\r
\r
3. The Death of Superman\r
This is a famous comic book storyline that ran from 1992 to 1993. The comic book was planned because sales of DC Comics were in sharp decline and in the grand tradition of comic book companies, they killed off one of their major Superheros. The ploy definitely worked. Sales skyrocketed after the storyline was announced and it revived DCs dying sales. This didnt last long because after the titular charer was brought back to life, some fans of thewere understandably upset and felt that they had been deceived. This didnt stop the comic from becoming one of Supermans most beloved storylines. The story was adapted into an animatedand it was also one of the main inspirations for theBatman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice. With more fans aware of the famous run and the comic book industry doing better than ever, this storyline definitely isnt at its end.\r
\r
2. Death of Brian Griffin\r
Family Guy made waves in new when it killed off one of the long standing main charers of the show, Brian. Brian is the family dog in the show and the cause of death was him going into the street and being hit by a car. Theshocked viewers and it led to countless complaints from the fans of the show. The internet was flooded with threats to stop watching the show. Of course, his death only lasted a couple of weeks thanks to Stewie rebuilding his time machine. The events left a lasting impression and revived the viewership of the show that has been on since 1999. The creator of the show said that the death was a publicity stunt that was designed to shock. It definitely did that.\r
\r
1.Taco Liberty Bell\r
The Taco Liberty Bell was an April Fools joke that fooled more than a few people. In 1996, the preferred fast food chain of stoners everywhere took out full page ads in seven different major newspapers that claimed they had bought the liberty bell and renamed it the taco liberty bell. The company said that the buy was meant to boost the countrys economy and as a result, thousands of complaints poured into the National Parks Service and Taco Bells headquarters. The National Parks Service broke the joke at noon that day when they revealed that the announcement was a joke. The stunt cost 300,000 dollars to pull off and in the end it netted the company 25 million in additional revenue, 1 million of which was gained in just the first two days following the stunt. Its a lesson in the power of a good joke in a marketing campaign.

Recommended