10 Yetis Insight Blog - Best Video-Based PR Campaigns of 2015

As a video-trained PR professional, I have a big appreciation for a good video-based PR campaign. Over the years, we have seen so many successful campaigns that have been out of this world. From the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine campaign and the Pepsi Max Unbelievable Bus Shelter campaign to brilliant stunts such as the ‘Fuck the Poor’ campaign, we’ve seen some incredible video-based PR campaigns in the past. 2015 was no different.

With so many to choose from, it’s been hard to round-up the best video-based PR campaignsof 2015. I’ve tried my goddamn hardest, though, so feast your eyes on (in my view) the royalty of 2015’s video-based PR campaigns.

10. Ant-Sized trailer, by Marvel and Disney

With their new comic book film, Ant Man, due for release, Marvel and Disney teamed up to promote the film with an alternative trailer. We’re all used to the Hollywood trailers, which more often than not showcase all the good parts before you’ve even seen it in the cinema, but the two giants of the entertainment world broke the norm with this campaign.

They set about promoting Ant Man with lots of ant-sized things. They released a series of ant-sized billboards for the film and followed the campaign up with an ant-sized trailer. No, seriously, they released a trailer on Youtube so small that you couldn’t see what was going on. Essentially it was a teaser for a trailer, but a great video-based PR campaign that broke the norm of the traditional film trailer.

9. Halloween Vending Machine, by Candy Kittens

If you haven’t heard of Candy Kittens, they are a sweet company founded by Made in Chelsea star and heir to McVitie’s Jamie Laing. Well, back in October the Candy Kittens launched their ‘dead good’ vending machine in Shoreditch, which offered passers-by free sweets.

There was a catch, though, with a ghost’s hand popping out of the vending machine to scare the public. It was a very simple Halloween stunt which worked to perfection.

8. Disney Characters Surprise Shoppers, by Disney

We’re only at number 8, but it seems already that Disney have smashed their video-based PR campaigns in 2015. This is their second entry on the list and a great stunt that was really simple to execute.

A host of Disney stars, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, surprised shoppers with a silhouette in a shopping mall as they also mimicked shoppers.

7. Beer Carousel, by Carlsberg

Let’s face it, Carlsberg are pretty good at stunts. In 2015, they rolled out the beer billboard, mocked the Protein World’s ‘Are you Beach Body Ready?’ ad and also produced this absolute cracker.

Their video-PR stunt played on their ‘If Carlsberg did…’ tagline; this time replacing suit cases with crates of Carlsberg beers. A really simple stunt, but an effective one at that.

6. Hearing Hands, by Samsung

This is a really touching video-PR stunt by Samsung, who taught a whole town sign language so that a deaf man could ‘live one days without barriers’.

The video was really touching and left the man, Muharrem, and was used to promote Samsung’s new video calling centre, which enables the hearing-impaired to communicate more easily.

5. Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank, by Hostelworld

If you’ve never seen the scene on I’m Alan Partidge where Alan pitches ideas to the BBC Chief Commissioning Editor, then where have you been for the last 18 years?

His one genius idea in the scene was ‘Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank’ and now, in the prime of the social media age, it’s become a bit of a legend. Many people tweet Chris Eubank asking him about the program, although the boxer had never seen the skit and had no idea what was going on.

@CarlPackman Can you please explain the link between me and youth hostels?
— Christopher Eubank (@ChrisEubank) August 9, 2015

Pretty quickly after Twitter exploded with Chris Eubank’s hostelling, he teamed up with price comparison site Hostelworld to create a trailer for ‘Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank.’

It’s a great example of a brand quickly jumping on a trend, with a short turnaround, reaping the benefits with great sharable content.

4. The Lump, by Cancer Research

Often, the best video-based PR stunts make you think and have a strong message. That’s exactly the case with this video stunt by Cancer Research.

They created a small bump on the side of a street, which grew and got harder with time. You’d think people would be concerned, but they really weren’t. It’s a strong message, pointing out that it is important to take note and act on any lumps or bumps that grow on your body.

A genius video-PR campaign that is definitely one of the best in 2015.

3. Naked Baristas, by Nestle

To promote their all natural coffee-mate creamer, Nestle launched a video-based PR campaign where naked baristas served customers in a New York coffee shop.

Almost all customers were in complete shock, as you would be, and struggled to stay composed whilst ordering their drink. The video has amassed over 4million views and was covered by the likes of the Daily Mail, CNN and Mirror.

2. Safety Truck, by Samsung

We’re heading out to Argentina for this vide-based PR stunt, with Samsung’s second entry on our top 10 list. After a worrying amount of deaths as a result of traffic accidents in Argentina, Samsung created the ‘Safety Truck’.

Most crashes in Argentina occur on the country’s many one way roads, with drivers trying to pass others. Samsung’s Safety Truck live streams pictures from the front of the truck, showing drivers behind the truck exactly what is happening in front of them.

The aim was to reduce traffic accidents and it is a really effective stunt. It has been viewed over 5million times.

1.Choose Beautiful, by Dove

So, our number one video-based PR stunt in 2015 was Dove’s Choose Beautiful. For this stunt, they set up two doors in a number of buildings, one with ‘beautiful’ above the door and one with the word ‘average’.

The video filmed thousands of women as they decided which door to walk through. A vast majority went for the average door, with Dove promoting that they should ‘choose beautiful’ in a bid to boost body confidence amongst women worldwide.

It really was a powerful stunt, which Dove followed up with a number of effective ads, including a ‘Read this if you’re average’ and ‘Read this if you’re beautiful’ double page spread advert in the Metro.

The video was viewed a total of 7,207,529 times and gained worldwide coverage for Dove. A well-deserved number 1, in my eyes.