The Art of the Publicity Stunt: Not for the Faint-Hearted, But Still as Effective as Ever!

I love a cunning (publicity) stunt.

And now, with the full gamut of social media in full swing to help spread the word, there's even more reason to consider adding the occasional stunt to your brand's marketing mix (but only if it makes strategic, creative and economic sense!!).

In the marketing PR business, one of the hardest gigs is to create and deliver a creative stunt that ticks all the boxes - and even then you need Lady Luck on your side in terms of making a media splash.

Taylor Herring's Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - CHECK IT OUT!

I ran across this recently - the Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - very cool, a brilliant list of some of the best publicity stunts ever, compiled by UK-based Taylor Herring Public Relations. Great stuff - definitely worth bookmarking!

From experience I can tell you a lot of blood, sweat and tears would have gone into many of these 'Hall of Fame' stunts; even the relatively 'simple' ones generally would have required ruthless planning and execution.

The Taylor Herring list features a broad range of different types of stunts and not all of them whacky (okay, the guy pushing a peanut along the road with his nose as a protest against his student debt, that was, errr, interesting).

Peanut

There are 'serious' stunts i.e. the Olympic Torch relay (proven since 1936 and still going strong)...
 
...the clever and intricate (I'd put Tourism Queensland's 'Best Job in the World' in this category)...
 
...the expensive (Macy's annual Thanksgiving Parade wouldn't come cheap)...
 
...the sexy (take your pick, but for sheer audacity the giant image of naked model Gail Porter projected on to Britain's Parliament building for FHM magazine, although Liz Hurley generated massive global attention when she rocked up to the premiere of Four Weddings & a Funeral wearing 'that dress')...

...the socially aware (Earth Hour)... 

...the utterly simple (Madonna and Britney pash at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003)...



...the confrontational (Sex Pistols signing their record contract with the A&M label outside Buckingham Palace)...

Sexpistols

...and the downright bizarre (that would go to electronic duo KLF burning one million quid - WTF? - or perhaps the singer Prince changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol).

I've got a particular favourite which was part of a broader sponsorship campaign but I'll leave that for another post!

Love to hear your feedback!

Here are some previous PR Warrior posts about publicity stunts:

Zoo Weekly Scores Publicity Coup in Strip Offer for 'Sexy' MP Kate Ellis

The Old Celebrity Hook That (Almost) Never Fails: Mr T & Snickers Show How It's Done!

Honda Jumps at Chance to Grab TV Viewers' Attention

Also posted on prwarrior.typepad.com

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  1. 1. At 9 Jul 2010 21:49, www.philipsheldrake.com linked here:

    ...The Art of the Publicity Stunt: Not for the Faint-Hearted, But Still as Effective as Ever!...

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Posted 25 May 2009
Last edited 26 May 2009
Latest revision: 2


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