Top 10 Viral Marketing Stunts

Who would have thought that simply adding someone’s name to a product would go viral? Well that’s exactly what Coke did in 2011 with its "Share a Coke" campaign. The cola giant added people’s names to its bottles and cans - and the world went nuts for it. People everywhere went searching for their own names and their friends' names - they were taking selfies with their bottles outside of stores, on public transport, and indeed with friends. Not only did it increase Coke sales, but it added a new level of togetherness and belonging to the Coke brand. And the campaign has evolved in various different ways since, with the likes of must-have pop culture quotes, nicknames and symbols replacing the names on the bottles.

From logo dropping to total social media blackout next. Taco Bell has an eclectic history of publicity stunts - I mean, remember when it pretended to buy the Liberty Bell? Back in 2014 it was faced with a mammoth challenge - promote a new Taco Bell app in a marketplace drenched in social media noise and competition. So what did it do? Well, it risked its millions of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers by temporarily closing down its channels, and redirecting all fans to its new app with the #onlyintheapp tagline. It even worked with Twitter to reset its follower count to zero. The blackout stunt was a massive success, with the brand reportedly recording mobile orders in 75% of its stores just 24 hours after the campaign launched.

You’ve got to have your wits about you on social media when April fools day comes around. Tinder capitalized on the prank-filled day by announcing it was going to be introducing height verification for its users. All you’d need to do was upload a photo of yourself standing next to a commercial building, and Tinder would analyze your height and officially verify it for you. The reaction on social media was hit and miss - some loved the idea, and some were outraged. Regardless, it earned Tinder a lot of increased social media and news article presence online - and even though it was only a joke, it’s permanently put the idea of Tinder height verification up for debate.

This publicity stunt took to the streets of London to promote Nat Geo’s upcoming one-off special T. Rex Autopsy back in 2015. The brand created the illusion that a T-Rex was being transported on the back of a truck, on its way to National Geographic HQ for said autopsy. The replica T-Rex had commuters scared, excited and snapping away as the dino made its way around the busy streets of the capital, complete with a blood-stained tarp, agape mouth and a twitching leg. The stunt went instantly viral with radio, TV and social media outlets everywhere reporting on the prehistoric spotting.

Apple is the king of streamlining - be it design, functionality or marketing. And its “Shot on iPhone” campaign is a perfect example of how a simple message can carry a lot of weight. In the mid 2010s Apple started using the “Shot on iPhone” slogan while promoting superb, cinema-quality ads that were, indeed, shot using the iPhone. The idea was that you could achieve these amazing shots yourself using the device. Okay, so Apple invested a lot of budget in extra equipment to achieve these shots, but nevertheless, the campaign did wonders for promoting the iPhone as the go-to device for capturing everyday moments in immaculate detail. It also helped fuel the idea of entire feature length movies being shot on iPhones.

Many of us practically lived in video calls in our home offices after the pandemic hit in 2020. And Zoom saw this as an opportunity to entice new users to its platform. The brand held monthly background challenge competitions, urging remote workers to share their creative digital backgrounds for a chance to win prizes. Not only did this urge existing Zoom members to experiment with the platform’s capabilities, but it urged users from other platforms to make the switch to Zoom in fear of missing out on the background craze. Aside from Zoom's own monthly competitions, companies everywhere started their own friendly contests, with each meeting becoming a new opportunity for fun and creativity.

The exciting thing about Tesla marketing stunts is that they’re usually rooted in realistic future endeavors for the brand. So, back in 2018 when Elon Musk said that SpaceX would be sending his personal Tesla Roadster into orbit, everyone listened up. The Roadster was successfully launched, put into orbit, and remains in space to this day. And the entire event was live streamed, with viewers able to watch the Roadster and its “Starman'' mannequin float on by. The event made the Roadster the first production car launched into space, and Musk claimed that the stunt was a way to promote the idea of humans visiting other planets. Whatever way you look at it, it’s cool. And hey, in 2091, there’s even a chance we’ll see the Roadster again, when it passes Earth a couple hundred thousand miles away.

Back when this ad was launched in 2007, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter were still very much in their infancy, so for a marketing campaign to go viral, it had to be really good. The Cadbury’s Gorilla ad, which saw a person in a Gorilla suit drumming along to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”, catapulted itself into the pop culture zeitgeist. Its mixture of absurdity, a catchy tune and the question of whether it was a real gorilla playing made the advert instantly iconic, and it’s still referenced and talked about to this day. Oh, and it also helped Cadbury’s sell more chocolate, with sales reportedly being boosted by 10%. The meaning behind the ad? Cadbury’s brings happiness - and gorilla’s look sick playing the drums.

This energy drink brand has faced a lot of flack for its “Red Bull gives you wings” slogan over the years. But with this marketing stunt, at least the brand was close to delivering on that claim. In 2012, Red Bull teamed up with scientists in an attempt to complete the world’s highest skydive. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner stood up to the challenge, and the world watched via live-stream as he took the leap. The entire fall took about 10 minutes, Baumgartner broke the sound barrier in the process and several world records to boot. For Red Bull, this was an interstellar example of on-brand marketing, with the energy drink brand further solidifying its adrenaline-fuelled prowess.

Almost everybody will have either participated or have known someone who took part in the ALS ice bucket challenge back in 2014. The social media sensation saw people from all over the world having buckets of ice water poured over them as a means to promote the awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - or ALS. People did it in their backyards, bathrooms, workplaces and anywhere else they could dump a bucket of water. And each challenge typically saw participants challenging their friends and family to follow suit. The celebrity participation aspect helped boost the campaign to unbelievable heights as well. The 2014 social media whirlwind raised over $115 million for ALS research and is one of the most memorable viral social media events ever.