Top 10 PR and marketing stunts and campaigns of August 2015
By Rich Leigh on Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Very little preamble this month, as I have a couple of proposals to finish up (I run my own PR agency alongside this, don’t you know? *Huh, OH HAI, in-house types, I didn’t see you there*) and I’m a bit up against it, but still, selflessly and/or heroically – some might say – I wanted to ensure this was out ASAP.
That said, I do have time to say congratulations AGAIN to contributor Johny Ho from Brazil, who has won this month’s £100 prize for writing the best-read post, courtesy of the lovely lot at Smoking Gun PR.
Moving on quickly to the good stuff. Here, in reverse order (and based solely on the number of unique views each post received), are the top ten PR and marketing campaigns throughout August 2015:
10. @Airbnb lists @Neighbours Ramsay Street home – post by Jessica White
Fans of iconic Australian soap Neighbours can explore the set in person, with the TV show listing its famous homes for rent on Airbnb as part of a special promotion.
9. Children imagine Singapore from the year 2065 with Lego SG100: Rebuild – post by LSI-TEC’s Johny Ho
To celebrate 50 years of Singapore’s independence from the UK, Lego asked adults to create – using Lego blocks – what they picture the city might look like in the next 50 years, in the year 2065. The grown-ups’ ideas included futuristic skyscrapers, massive highways and towering offices, that resembled Transformer robots.
Then they put a group of six-year old children in the room to make changes on the build city to turn it into the Singapore 2065 that they’d like. A great campaign.
8. WWF appeal to families ‘on the verge of extinction’ in this charity PR campaign
https://vimeo.com/130204312
According to the WWF, there are just 3,200 tigers left in the wild today, worldwide. The organisation’s message is ‘If we don’t act now, this family is about to become extinct. With devastating consequences for the wider ecosystem’.
More than 30% of the Belgian population has a family name that is also ‘threatened with extinction’. Using this, the WWF launched a national call to all those families to adopt a tiger into their family, under the banner “Families on the verge of extinction save a family on the verge of extinction.”
7. Netflix transforms viewer brainwaves into music to promote themes of new show ‘Sense8′ – post by LSI-TEC’s Johny Ho
To promote Sense8, a new show that tells the story of 8 strangers from different parts of the world that find themselves suddenly connected to each other by thoughts, feelings and action, Netflix partnered with Tool, to create the “Brainwave Symphony,” an original piece of music made from people’s brainwaves
6. O2 turns British gymnast Louis Smith into ‘human hotspot’
To promote the new Huawei E5770 mobile hotspot, O2 assembled a ‘GuyFi’ team, giving beachgoers free Wi-Fi. Leading the human hot spots is British gymnast Louis Smith, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.
5. Flying human-shaped drone set on fire in Fantastic 4 PR stunt (video in link)
In a stunt to promote the upcoming Fantastic Four film (out this week), the Human Torch was recreated as a drone, making it look like a burning man was flying through the sky.
4. ‘Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank’ now a reality in world’s most niche PR campaign
In a stunt alluding to a joke made almost 20 years ago in the first episode of ‘I’m Alan Partridge’, former world champion boxer Chris Eubank has teamed up with hostel comparison site Hostelworld to create one of the world’s most niche PR campaigns – and also one of my favourite ever.
3. Let out your inner action hero with this Mission Impossible stunt – post by Laura Wilkey
To promote Rogue Nation, the next movie in the Mission Impossible franchise, agency Grandesign created an action inspired obstacle course for passers-by in Hollywood. Contestants chased a briefcase, unlocked a box and climbed up a plane wing.
2. Selfridges does Christmas in August – post by PR Agency One’s James Crawford
Department store Selfridges launched Christmas in August, a mere 143 days before Christmas. Selfridges is trolling so hard by doing this, probably a reason this post has proved so popular.
1. Interactive magazine cover lets you remove make-up from it – post by LSI-TEC’s Johny Ho
Cover with actress in full make-up and the Cover with the make-up removed using the wet-wipes.
Neutrogena conducted an elaborate stunt along with “Caras” magazine, featuring actress/model Giovanna Ewbank in full make-up. Ewbank’s makeup could be removed by the readers using the wet-wipes provided with the magazine.
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