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"Mortician" is a PR concept - Did you know that the term "mortician" was invented as part of a PR campaign by the funeral industry? The term was chosen after a call for ideas in Embalmer's Monthly, where it was agreed that it felt more customer-friendly than undertaker...

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Fly Uber -

Uber took its ride-sharing services to new heights when it started offering promotional helicopter rides to Uber users. It started the service in 2012 by chartering Uber helicopter rides from New York City to the Hamptons. It's now escalated to private jets.

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Virgin's cosmic tourism -

Richard Branson was always a wild thinker. From flying around the world in a hot-air balloon, he went on to market his space tourism vision. Everyone thought it was ludicrous, but his idea has now escalated to new dimensions.

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Tesla, the first car in space -

Space is the place to sell cars too, apparently. Remember when Elon Musk sent a Tesla car into outer space? It was a press success!

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Dos Equis and the "most interesting man in the world" -

The Dos Equis beer brand made a series of commercials pushing forward the "most interesting man in the world." No add-ons needed. But not all campaigns are tailored with the same craftsmanship...

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Objectifying women for Suitsupply -

The gentleman's brand Suitsupply got into bad PR jail when they decided to push women's spicy imagery to sell men's apparel. The public didn't like it, and all the brand got out of it was a serious case of bad press.

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'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) -

In 1999, 'The Blair Witch Project' team confused everyone, by spreading controversy and leading people to believe it was a real-life documentary. The truth was eventually revealed, and the film was a success! And the flashlight on a terrified face scene became more iconic than the film itself.

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Fear the squid -

Relief App offers debt management services to working Americans. They teamed up with Wunder to create a campaign inspired by the Netflix series 'Squid Game,' and placed 10,000 'game cards' around the city centers of New York and Miami. Fortunately, they provide milder solutions for dealing with the issue!

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Burger King's subservient chicken campaign -

In 2004, the brand launched an online campaign featuring a man in a chicken suit, who would perform any command given to him. The bizarre campaign generated a lot of buzz, but was ultimately criticized for being tasteless and offensive.

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The Ice Bucket Challenge - The popular viral campaign took off on social media. It involved dumping a bucket of ice water over the head, recording it, and then posting on Facebook while tagging others to take up the challenge. The campaign raised US$100 million to support amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research.

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Where's the beef?! -

Clara Peller is the popular elderly woman in the Wendy's commercial. After being served a hamburger with a small patty, she promptly exclaims: "Where’s the beef?" The phrase became a cultural phenomenon, and Wendy's sales jumped 31% in a single year.

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Got milk? - Launched in 1993, Got Milk became a massively popular PR campaign, aiming to raise awareness about the benefits of milk and dairy products—with a white mustache! Several celebrities have since dipped their lips in the cause, such as Maggie Gyllenhaal, David Beckham, and Taylor Swift.

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Double down, and no bread please -

Why have bread when you can have two slices of fried chicken? In 2010, KFC's Double Down campaign was extremely popular, selling over 10 million sandwiches.

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IKEA dares you to pee -

Peeing on an IKEA ad for a discount?! Pretty gross, right? The sheet was actually a pregnancy test on their catalog! The brand encouraged women to pee on it to reveal a potential discount on a crib.

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IHOp or IHOb? -

In 2018, IHOP decided to spice things up by changing its name to IHOb, leaving everyone wondering what the "b" stood for. It turns out it was all part of a marketing campaign to promote their new line of burgers.

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Red Bull gives you wings - This stunt took place in 2012, when Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space, breaking the sound barrier in the process. The campaign was a massive success, cementing Red Bull’s reputation for "giving you wings."

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The Taco Bell Chihuahua - In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Taco Bell famously used a Chihuahua as their mascot. The ads were popular initially, but over time the campaign became the subject of controversy for perpetuating negative stereotypes about Mexican culture.

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The T-rex autopsy by National Geographic -

Free press goes a long way. For instance, National Geographic had the idea to cruise the streets of London with a 'dead' T-rex. They got everyone's attention, and saved some big bucks on advertising.

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The Whopper sacrifice challenge -

In 2009, Burger King launched a campaign that encouraged users to delete 10 friends from their Facebook accounts in exchange for a free Whopper. The campaign was criticized for promoting antisocial behavior and violating Facebook’s terms of service.

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The Mars One scam - In 2012, Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp arguably took PR too far when he announced his plan to establish a human settlement on Mars by 2023. The Mars One project attracted thousands of applicants, but it was a scam!

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Dating Colonel Sanders! -

In 2018, KFC released a series of ads featuring Colonel Sanders in a 'romantic comedy' set in the 1800s. The ads were widely criticized for being bizarre and tone-deaf. But the idea stuck, and resulted in a popular dating simulator with the Colonel himself, developed by Psyop.

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The Crystal Pepsi campaign - In 1992, Pepsi released a clear cola called Crystal Pepsi, which was supposed to be a healthier alternative to regular soda. But the campaign was strange and confusing, and the product failed to catch on with consumers.

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McWhopper for peace was a no go -

In 2015, Burger King waved a white flag and proposed a collaboration with McDonald’s to create a hybrid burger: the McWhopper. The campaign was meant for World Peace Day, but the two fast food giants couldn’t find common ground, and McDonald’s ultimately declined the offer.

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Can you hear me now? -

Paul Marcarelli was the face of one the most successful campaigns in recent history, which lasted from 2002 to 2011. The 'test man' character traveled across the US asking "Can you hear me now?" to test Verizon’s signal. The catchphrase became widely recognized, and it's been linked to the Verizon brand ever since.

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Taco Bell buying the Liberty Bell? -

Lying is also a way to get publicity. Back in 1996, Taco Bell submitted press releases to major news outlets saying they were purchasing the Liberty Bell. Outrageous, but it worked, and Taco Bell got around US$25 million in free publicity from the stunt.

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Kim Kardashian pushes Charmin -

Talking about cringe PR moments, here's something for Kim Kardashian to regret. In 2010, she showed up to reveal the Charmin Restrooms location at New York's Times Square.

Sources: (The Drum)

See also: The world's most expensive government projects

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