EXTREME BRANDING

When Brands Go Too Far: 10 Unforgettable Marketing Stunts

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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.

Image: 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!

Image: 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!

Image: 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.

WHERE WOULD YOU PREFER TO BE WORKING?

Workers In Pajamas: 10 Jobs That Can Be Done From Home

Image: Arnel Hasanovic

The dream of working from home came true for an immense number of people during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, many have returned to the workplace but a great deal of individuals remain spinning the proverbial wheels of capitalism with their slippers on.

Some of these occupations have been around from way before the days of COVID-19, while others came into being during that very year. Whether you belong to the former, the latter, or neither of them, this list surely has a few entries that will surprise you.

Image: Petr Macháček

Everybody has interacted with a call center representative. The job entails answering customer calls and resolving any issues or concerns, providing support, listening to complaints, and answering customer questions.

But while most of us picture a call center representative as someone in an office cubicle, the truth is that many of these jobs can be and are carried out at home. The company hiring the representative will provide some basic elements like headphones and the appropriate software. However, as long as he or she has a home computer and a decent internet connection, they are set.

Image: Campaign Creators

Aside from inputting new information, data entry clerks also update old information and look for data deficiencies. Before inputting data, they compile information as needed and prepare source data. As you have guessed by now, this is a job well suited for the home office.

While much of the information feed that goes into databases is provided by other computers, a very large fraction of this data is manually entered by humans. The job is called data entry clerk and it also has been around for quite some time now.

Image: Christina @ wocintechchat.com

According to recent numbers, the Internet has over 1.13 billion websites. That is more than a few, right? And, when we think about it, someone has to design every single one of those websites out there. Enter the web designer.

Web designers create and code internet web pages. They also decide on the layout of a website and work with a web page's variety of elements such as text, pictures, videos, and graphics. This job too, belongs to the lucky bunch who can opt for working at home.

Image: Timothy Hales Bennett

Social media comprises a huge part of the Internet experience these days. Some would say, even a major part of it. Almost every single company has figured out by now that online presence in social media is paramount to being successful and interacting with the community requires dedication and time.

Enter the social media manager: an internet-savvy individual who oversees a company's social media channels. They reply to comments, post content, and ensure the channels align with the overall brand. Social media managers also create content and devise social media marketing strategies to increase engagement and expand the company's online reach.

Image: Windows

A job that has been replaced by Artificial Intelligence in many aspects, a human virtual assistant can still be an extremely valuable asset to someone who needs, well… assistance with a diverse range of things.

These helpful individuals perform several administrative tasks for their clients. They answer telephone calls, reply to emails, schedule meetings, and create their client's travel plans. Just like a secretary but from the comfort of their own home.

Image: Tyler Franta

Like a modern-day Hemingway, the freelance writer creates content for various companies on a non-contract basis from wherever she or he wants to be, through a computer. This job entails gathering information on a topic, writing article drafts, and editing content for grammar, spelling, and adherence to company style guides.

The freelance part of the gig means that the professional who delves into this line of work can be constantly looking for clients, although some manage to retain regular assignments for a more predictable workflow.

Image: Brooke Cagle

If you encountered or maybe even participated in one of those online language classes then you are familiar with this one. Online tutors help students learn and understand various subject areas.

As we said, they assist students with the learning of a foreign language, but also with their homework and help them prepare for upcoming examinations. A tutor can explain topics to students and answer any questions they might have.

Image: KAL VISUALS

Freelance video editors shape and adjust video content to fit a desired narrative. This professional is trained in specific video editing software and uses potent hardware, key to achieving the task at hand.

Many freelance video editors work at home since the equipment needed for the job is a desktop computer with a big screen (or more than one), but portable laptops can sometimes do the job too.

Image: Altum Code

Forget that old stereotype of the hacker locked up in his room, with the windows closed, surrounded by junk food leftovers, staring blankly at a computer screen filled with random numbers and letters. Well, maybe that last part is a bit accurate.

These days, software developers create software or applications on computers or mobile devices. Their responsibilities typically include improving existing computer systems, creating code and working with project managers or clients on the progress of developing software, and debugging software. And yes, they usually can work at home.

Image: Tumisu

This one will seem as if it's the other way around: the patient is at home and the doctor is at the hospital. But, many times, both participants get to be where they want/need to be. A telemedicine physician who works full-time in this capacity usually does so from the comfort of his or her home.

These professionals communicate with patients via telephone, online chat, or through video calls. They address their concerns, treat them for non-emergency conditions, and prescribe medication as needed. While most of us still prefer to be in the physical presence of a doctor when being examined, this modern method definitely has its advantages, like the more immediate attention that it can provide.