What would you do if you walked into an elevator and witnessed an attempted murder? New York residents were faced with the shocking scenario this week. Fortunately, it turns out that the attempted elevator murder was a marketing stunt to promote the upcoming film Dead Man Down. This isn’t the first time a marketing agency has used an over-the-top stunt to gain publicity and attention.

1. 7 Ridiculous Marketing Stunts
You Wish You
Thought Of

2. With so many marketers vying for
consumer attention, it’s more important
than ever to make your brand stand out.
There are two main ways to do this:
1. Ambush Campaigns
2. Stunt Marketing

3. What are the benefits of stunt marketing?
• Since it’s so ridiculous, audiences can’t help but pay
attention.
• They’re generally cheaper than a traditional,
prolonged marketing campaign.
• If pulled off successfully, they can go viral with
positive word-of-mouth for weeks to come.
• Free news coverage.
• So what are some examples of successful stunt
marketing campaigns?

4. #1 Taco Bell
Purchases the
Liberty Bell
This was a headline that
appeared in the New York
Times in 1994 on April
Fool’s Day. What’s most
impressive about this
headline is their use of
humor and creativity.

5. #2 Welcome to SugarDaddie.com, California
• Dating website SugarDaddie.com
offered $11.65 million to purchase
the town of Woodside, CA.
• While Woodside rejected the
offer, SugarDaddie received free
publicity without having to pay a
cent of their $11.65 million offer.
• Since their stunt was so
preposterous, SugarDaddie never
had to worry about actually paying
$11.65 million to purchase the
town – yet they reaped the
marketing benefits. Genius!

6. #3 Is that the Virgin Mary on my Grilled Cheese?
• Since GoldenPalace.com is
prohibited from advertising on
traditional media, they took
unconventional advertising
opportunities.
• They made headlines purchasing a
grilled cheese sandwich for
$28,000 because it had the Virgin
Mary on it.
• The stunt accidentally turned into
a long-term marketing opportunity.
GoldenPalace now hosts an
international grilled cheese eating
competition.

7. #4 The Sweet Taste and
Sound of Classical Music –
and Ice Cream!
• To promote their new
“Dulce” ice cream, Haagen-
Dazs filled a concert hall with
beds, hundreds of people,
and ice cream!
• The audience was treated to
an evening of sweet music
and sweet treats!

8. #5 Burger King’s Subservient Chicken
• The website Subservient Chicken was made to
promote Burger King internationally. From 2001-
2012, the chicken on this website would do anything
(almost) you told it to do.
• The site was so ridiculously entertaining that
consumers would go there on their own – and
voluntarily get plastered with Burger King’s
advertisements!

9. #6 Attention: Now Announcing the
Left Handed Burger
• Again, Burger King takes a spot on the list for
announcing a burger for left-handed people. While
this stunt may not be as “big” or shocking, it’s a
friendly reminder that humor and creativity go a long
way with audiences.

10. #7 World’s Largest Popsicle
Weighs in at 17.5 Tons
• In 2005, Snapple attempted to
build the world’s largest popsicle
made out of Snapple juice. The
popsicle was going to measure at
25 feet tall and weigh 17.5 tons.
• Unfortunately, the popsicle ended
up melting before they could
finish. While the stunt failed, the
scale of the attempt was enough to
gain the brand headlines
throughout the following news
cycle.

11. Sources:
• http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/shocking-attempted-
murder-turns-out-be-just-another-marketing-stunt-
147731
• http://www.fastcocreate.com/1682526/this-marketing-
stunt-makes-elevator-users-accessory-to-
murder?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&
utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcocreate%2Ffeed+%28
Co.Create%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
• http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159484
• http://www.inc.com/laura-entis/3-over-the-top-
marketing-stunts.html
• http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/7_wild_and_ridic
ulous_PR_and_marketing_stunts_11886.aspx#

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