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by **Paul** Thu 28 Mar 2024, 11:36 am

EXTREME BRANDING
[size=39]When Brands Go Too Far: 10 Unforgettable Marketing Stunts[/size]

Published on March 28, 2024

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Credit: Joshua Earle

In the competitive world of marketing, sometimes a little creativity goes a long way. Over the years, brands have pulled off some truly outrageous stunts to capture attention, generate buzz, and solidify their place in the minds of consumers. But sometimes, brands take things a bit too far in their quest for sales.
Join us on this roller coaster of bizarre marketing stunts and sales strategies that pushed the boundaries of conventional advertising.

1

Elephant Parade

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Credit: Documerica

Famous American showman and businessman P.T. Barnum was a pioneer of unconventional marketing, often staging bizarre stunts that would attract thousands of onlookers. In 1883, during the inauguration of the Brooklyn Bridge, he led a parade of 21 elephants, including Jumbo—his beloved African elephant—across the newly constructed bridge. The spectacle garnered widespread attention, reassuring New Yorkers of the bridge’s safety while promoting his own shows.

2

A Record-Breaking Jump

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Credit: Kamil Pietrzak

Red Bull has made a name for itself associating with crazy stunts and extreme sports. In 2012, the energy drinks brand orchestrated one of the most daring marketing stunts in history with Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from the edge of space. The Red Bull Stratos mission saw the Australian daredevil jump from a helium balloon at an altitude of 128,000 feet, breaking world records and capturing everyone’s attention.

3

Spending the Night in a Furniture Store

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Credit: tommao wang

While IKEA is not very keen on young pranksters who seemingly love to hold secret sleepovers in their stores, they could not resist the temptation of making their own slumber parties. The Swedish furniture chain gave shoppers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the night in one of their showrooms as part of a marketing campaign. The lucky customers were treated to a sleepover complete with games, massages, and breakfast in bed, turning a mundane shopping trip into a memorable experience.

4

The Subservient Chicken

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Credit: Josue Canales Tecuatl

As part of their advertising campaign "Get chicken just the way you like it", Burger King's Subservient Chicken website allowed users to control a person dressed in a chicken costume through what looked like a live webcam feed — but was actually pre-recorded footage. The interactive experience quickly became viral, capturing the imagination of internet users and generating tons of buzz for the fast-food chain.

5

A Christmas Miracle

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Credit: Norman Tsui

In Japan, Domino's Pizza once experimented with delivering pizzas via reindeer during the holiday season. While the reindeer delivery program seemed like a great idea in Hokkaido’s extreme blizzard conditions, the stunt was short-lived and faced many logistical challenges—according to Domino's, controlling reindeers is no walk in the park. However, the failed stunt still managed to capture the festive spirit of the season and garnered widespread media coverage.

6

Guerrilla Marketing

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Credit: Rosie Sun

A pioneer of the found-footage genre, The Blair Witch Project didn’t just shock audiences on the silver screen, but also revolutionized movie marketing with its guerrilla tactics, which included fake missing persons posters and a mysterious website presenting the film as a real documentary. The viral marketing campaign generated immense curiosity and propelled the independent film to massive success.

7

A Night at the Louvre

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Credit: Michael Fousert

In 2019, Airbnb offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for guests to spend a night inside the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris. The exclusive sleepover was part of the celebrations of the Louvre Pyramid’s 30th anniversary and allowed lucky winners to enjoy a private tour, gourmet dinner, and an overnight stay in a custom-built small version of the famous entrance to the museum.

8

Commuter’s Oasis

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Credit: Dele Oke

In 2013, as part of their "Have a Break" campaign, KitKat built their own "bus stops" in the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht, complete with a bench where people could just sit and take a moment for themselves. And if they waited long enough, they would win a free Nexus 7 tablet, just for sitting there!

9

Launching a Car Into Space

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Credit: SpaceX, CC0

In a move that epitomized Elon Musk's flair for the dramatic, SpaceX launched a cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space aboard the Falcon Heavy rocket. With a mannequin in a spacesuit dubbed "Starman" at the wheel and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" playing on loop, the stunt captured the whole world's attention, simultaneously promoting both Tesla and SpaceX in a bold and exciting way. And the funniest part is that the cutting edge car will now be orbiting the Sun for millions of years!

10

Message in a Bottle

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Credit: Ruud de Peijper

A message in a bottle might seem like a poor way of getting someone’s attention if you are in a pressing situation, but not for Guinness! In a series of marketing campaigns that took place in the 50s, the Irish beer company dropped hundreds of thousands of sealed bottles in the middle of the ocean. Each bottle contained a message asking the finder to write to Guinness Exports, reporting the location and date of the find. To this day, the bottles are still washing ashore, and are worth quite a lot as Guinness memorabilia if left unopened.