5 Best Car PR Stunts: The Brilliant & The Fatal

PR stunts can be a fantastic way for companies to let everyone know about their immense new product. This is because adverts tend to be similar and consistent and we see them everyday, but yet the occasional PR events are the ones we always remember. Sometimes they give us joy and excitement but some can leave us offended and outraged. Like the boss of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, always says, 'Any publicity is better than no publicity.' It's exactly what the following five companies had in mind and each involved a car or two.

5. Mercedes: Escape The Map

Mercedes knew that the amount of people that drooled at the sight of the C Class Coupe probably wouldn't be able to afford it which is why they ran an online competition for people short of pennies to try and win one. The concept sort of made sense, here's the plot: you and the lovely Marie are trapped in Google Streetview. To escape it you have to find a mysterious portal which is the only way out using clues and the C Class Coupe's Sat Nav. The quicker you get out, the more chance you have to win a car. The competition closed back in December but you can still give the game a go. See if you can beat my time of 5 minutes and 20 seconds at www.escapethemap.com.

4. Citroen DS4 Seekers

Citroen followed a similar but better approach to Mercedes' stunt by playing the biggest game of hide and seek with the new DS4 last year. There were around 700,000 virtual DS4s hidden across the country by players through two rounds and whoever found the most either online through Facebook or in real life using the phone app won themselves the big DS. On a related note, the Citroen DS4 Racing has just been announced with a preview at Geneva 2012.

3. SEAT Fan Of The Month

Fans of the Spanish brand on Facebook were given the chance to test drive one of SEAT's latest line up, from Ibiza to Alhambra. The rules were simple: collect the car, keep a regular video diary of it for the week and then return it. Testers then post their videos to SEAT's Facebook page. Last month's winner shown here is Nick Duff who got the chance to test the new Alhambra MPV and used it to ferry his fellow Antelope band mates and their equipment. The whole experience led Nick to buying an Ibiza Sportrider shortly after. PR win!

2. Cooper Cold Front

To promote how 'wind and weather proof' the new Mini Cooper Roadster is, Mini's advertising agency, Sassenbach, thought it would be a good idea to name a weather front 'Cooper' which fans could track online. Unfortunately this was the same cold front that brought greater than average amounts of snow and freezing temperatures to central Europe which killed around 100 people in Poland and Ukraine. A little bit awkward for the German-owned brand.

1. Trident Twist Taxi

The name of this particular chewing gum is the big clue as to what this stunt is all about. Imagine the scenario: you're catching a cab at an airport in Mexico, all the taxis that the people in front of you are hopping into are nasty old saloons, suddenly your taxi arrives, and it's a Ferrari F430 Spider! Yes, for one day the local taxi firm got to borrow a Ferrari F430 Spider and a Porsche Panamera to give randomly selected fares the ride of their lives. Certainly a twist to their day, right?

Come across any interesting car-related PR stunts? Let us know in the comments!