From tequila drinking fountains to pizza-ordering parkas, these publicity stunts in 2017 demonstrate how brands are thinking outside the box to increase consumer engagement.
The examples range from wacky, attention-grabbing stunts like Bompas & Parr's sausage Séance, to creative public demonstrations, like Nintendo's entirely free in-airport gaming station. Other brands opted for a more humorous approach, such as the New York coffee shop that filled its interior with motorized chairs and surprised its guests with an impromptu race to promote Amazon's motoring series, 'The Grand Tour.' Personalization played a key factor in these stunts, which was exemplified through Heineken's creative attempt to compete with microbreweries, by offering young tourists a personal beer, branded with their name on it.
While most of the stunts had a small-scale impact, others aimed to gain global attention, like Samsung's promotion of its Galaxy 8 phone, in which it transformed Ireland's Samuel Beckett Bridge into a real, functional harp. Other examples include the Empire State building's yellow glow to celebrate World Emoji Day, or Budweiser's 'Bud On Mars' stunt, in which the beer brand will send barley to space.
- Gen Z
- Gen Alpha
- Gen X
- Millennial (primary audience)
