Public Thrills

Posted on | March 1, 2009 |

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For publicity or pure thrills, public stunts can create memorable experiences for spectators and generate big buzz for brands. The marketing industry is full of all kinds of stunts. Some become an instant hit, some cross the line and others may just slide by with barely a peep or rustled feather.

The theme of our favorite publicity stunts this year is humor. We’ve selected three slightly off-the-cuff public displays of silliness that made us stop in our tracks, laugh out loud and tell our friends. These featured stunts exemplify how humor can make heads turn and people buzz. Each of these stunts succeeded in crossing the analog-digital continuum, establishing major presence not only in the street, but in the online world as well.

EDDIE MURPHY’S GIANT HEAD TOURS THE USA!
This was easily one of the most comedic publicity stunts in the last year. In promotion of the new Eddie Murphy flick Meet Dave, a gigantic foam head was created to resemble the featured comedic actor. The head toured from the West Coast all the way to Times Square, stopping along the way to allow people to enter Eddie Murphy’s giant head; the camera-happy, Internet-surfing public went absolutely bananas.

This concept of a giant traveling head directly relates to the movie, which features a human-shaped ship that is controlled by a miniature crew of aliens. Looking to increase the interaction between the movie and the target viewer, 20th Century Fox decided to feature photos of each person posing with the Eddie head on the Meet Dave website. A select number of these images were used to create a mosaic version of the movie poster, which was posted in theaters. The giant Eddie head ended its tour in L.A. in time for the July 11th premier.

video courtesy of Eric Seals - Detroit Free Press

RUDE BEAR!
So what exactly is Rude Bear? Well, he’s a human dressed as a giant teddy bear that shows up in the most unlikely places — dance parties in New York City! We first spotted Rude Bear at a small weekly party on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Next thing we know, he’s on stage with Chromeo at Webster Hall! He has created buzz online and offline without informing a single soul of his mysterious agenda.

Some say he’s a new DJ looking to get exposure before he drops some serious tracks, some say he’s going to become a massive promoter in NYC, and some just think he’s a friendly teddy bear that likes to party. While he doesn’t talk, he does email, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and even has his own dedicated website. So keep your eyes peeled. Rude Bear just might be coming to a party near you!

photo by THE CULTURE OF ME | For more info visit www.rudeny.com

PENNY PRANK!
Office Max sent comedian Matt McCarthy undercover in New York City to shed light on America’s apparent prejudice against pennies. With hidden cameras rolling, the stoic McCarthy attempted to pay for things such as a fine steak dinner and even a car completely in coppery Abe Lincolns.

The general reactions ranged from angry to completely pissed, with one enraged chef throwing a full-out tantrum in his restaurant. Yet all this captured negativity towards the penny was viral gold for Office Max. They launched a Penny Prank YouTube channel for all the footage, and then posted ads for penny deals on their site, selling anything from glue to magic markers for only one cent.

Check out the pranks at www.youtube.com/user/pennypranks.

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