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The Greatest Publicity Stunts
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By Lars Hindsley
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| #9
Tiger Tees Off Dubia Heli Pad |
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 Who:
Tiger Woods
When: March 2004
Where: Burj Al Arab, the world's second tallest free-standing
hotel (1,050 ft). Located on a man made island (visible from
space) in the United Arab Emirates.
What: Practice T Shot off of Burj Al Arab Helipad.
Why: Tiger Woods was paid $1 million to play in the Dubai
Desert Golf Classic. Organizers strategically wrangled the
media to launch the tournament. It was here that Tiger Woods
took at least one practice stroke from atop the Burj All Arab,
the world's tallest free-standing hotel. Left a top by a helicopter
at the helipad it then hovered nearby to video and photograph
the event.
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| #8
Blair Witch Project |
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 Who:
Eduardo Sanchez & Daniel Myrick
When: 1999
Where: The World Wide Web, then Movie Theaters
What: A horror movie shot in documentary format using the
world wide web to hype it as potentially real. The result
is the most profitable film in history as the cost ($35 thousand)
of the film and promotion was miniscule while the revenue
was staggering. It earned $248 million. Like the movie or
not, it is the highest grossing film in history based on the
ratio of box office sales to production cost.
Why: Producers of The Blair Witch project succeeded in creating
huge pre-hype for their low budget horror flick, which was
centered around a group of students being murdered in a forest.
Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction was key to
the early buzz that surrounded the movie. Allegedly, the filmmakers
had circulated tapes to colleges that were presented as 'real
video diary footage'. Clips that were presented as a 'documentary'
rather than fiction were shown on the Independent Film Channel.
This was one of first feature films to use online and viral
PR to build hype. The buzz ensured that Blair Witch was a
major success which took over $150 million at the box office.
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| #7
Death of Superman |
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 Who:
DC Comics
When: October/November 1992
Where: DC Universe - Metropolis.
What: You could say that Doomsday killed Superman in issue
75, but actually DC killed Superman to boost sales. It's not
so ironic a statement, as you know DC could never kill a four
billion dollar revenue source. The hype included the first
run being sold in a black bag with no more than Superman's
crest on the cover. It wasn't only a gimmick to symbolize
Superman's death, it was a smart money making ploy. You couldn't
read it unless you bought it.
This stunt could never be pulled again but has been copied
since in many failed attempts. DC broke Batman's back in a
few short months after killing Superman. Subsequently, comic
book readers have become callous to unmasking, cloning, broken
backs and of course ...deaths of characters. Deaths and resurrections
in comics is commonplace now. Spider-Man could die tomorrow
and no one would believe it. Robin was killed three times.
Captain American was killed in 2007. Everyone is waiting for
him to return, and he will.
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