7 days ago
Is this the craziest marketing ploy by a car maker yet? Chinese EV brand offers free BUNGEE JUMPS
Sometimes marketing a new car takes a little more than just a good product and a strong sales pitch.
PR agencies are frequently tasked with coming up with unusual ways to grab attention and sparking interest in models entering the market.
And one new Chinese car company has come up with an out of the box plan to introduce its new electric vehicles to UK customers... by offering free bungee jumps to celebrate its launch in the UK next month.
It's not the first PR stunt of its kind; over the years we've had everything from formation skydiving to spending half a million on a scale replica of a car made out of baked goods.
So where does this latest crazy pitch rank among the most bonkers PR ploys?
Here are five marketing stunts by automotive companies that left quite an impression...
1. Leapmotor bungee jumps into the UK market
Warning: this is not for the fainthearted.
New Chinese EV maker Leapmotor is using an unconventional tactic, linked to a play on words for the brand name, to introduce customers to its arrival in Britain.
It will setup a unique pop-up showroom at Coram's Fields in London from 3-4 June where potential buyers can browse its two new cheap battery cars... before throwing themselves off a 160ft-high platform with just nylon-cased rubber bands on their ankles preventing their demise.
A wordplay on 'leaping into the unknown', Leapmotor is encouraging potential EV owners to take a 'bold step' into EV ownership while ticking off a 'bucket list thing' by partaking in free bungee jumps on site.
It's not a bad deal, too. The experience typically costs £99, so thrill seekers can save a few quid if they want to get involved.
Jumps will be available both days from 10am until 5pm - though you can just turn up to take a look at its new £15,995 T03 electric city car and £36,500 C10 SUV while keeping your feet firmly on the ground.
It's certainly a sales pitch with a twist that you don't get from your local dealership, with London's skyline providing an 'epic' background for social media-worthy snaps.
2. VW's EV with a difference...
How does the Leapmotor stunt compare to other PR efforts?
We go back to 2020 for Volkswagen Norway's oddball electric car promotional idea to bolster sales of its ID range, kickstarted that year by the arrival of the ID.3.
Bored office workers were given a treat when VW built a one-of-a-kind electric chair with a removable battery, 7.5 miles of range (how big are offices in Scandinavia?!) and a top speed of 12.4mph.
Not just a speed machine, the swivel chair had car-like features including a touchscreen display, headlights in the armrests, a rear-view camera and 360-degree parking sensors.
Our favourite feature though? The horn. Make an entrance or silence a room - it's dual purpose.
Alas Volkswagen's commercial vehicle division in Norway never intended for it to be produced, but limited test drive were available.
In 2015 Jaguar sent its new XF saloon along a high-wire over Canary Wharf in the world's longest high-wire journey to prove just how lightweight the car was
3. Jaguar tightropes to work
Jaguar went sky high with this PR stunt with a daring feat we're not even sure Tom Cruise would want to try on set for his 115th Mission in Possible movie.
To showcase how lightweight the new XF saloon was when it arrived back in 2015 [it was a whole 80kg lighter than its competition, if you really wanted to know] Jaguar sent it along a high-wire above London's Canary Wharf.
Supported by two 34mm carbon wires suspended 18 metres above water, the XF's 240 metre journey was the world's longest high-wire effort.
Bond stuntman Jim Dowall was in the driver's seat for the three-minute journey [rather him than us] which stunned commuters and the global audience watching online.
4. The Great Skoda Bake Off
Before Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and the hallowed Bake Off tent was a thing, Skoda decided baking was the secret ingredient to high sales.
While a commercial rather than a traditional PR stunt, the Czech car maker rose to the advertising occasion by baking a life-size Fabia to promote the second-generation of its supermini.
As well as an enormous amount of prep, man hours and technical skill that went into the ad, it was also one of the most expensive cakes ever produced, costing £500,000.
However it went on to have millions of views as well as national press coverage, so it just shows you can't beat a good bake.
5. Volvo's extreme crash test
We've put this one last because, while it is highly unusual, it is also extremely worthwhile - so it's in a category of its own really.
Showcasing its incredibly high safety standards, Swedish car brand Volvo dropped 10 of its cars including the XC40, XC90 SUVs and V60 saloon from a 100ft crane to the rocky ground below back in 2022.
Known for its robust approach to safety - Volvo after all invented and mass-marketed the three-point seatbelt - the Scandi carmaker went to unheard of lengths to understand how well its cars can withstand collisions at high speeds.
The monumental stunt simulated the forces that erupt as a result of high-speed accidents that can't be replicated in conventional crash-test laboratories.
Emergency services were invited to test their extraction skills and to get a better understanding of how to safely remove injured passengers from stricken vehicles.
The findings were published in an extensive report free for rescue workers around the world to use.
It might have grabbed headlines but most importantly it might have saved lives - hats off to Volvo for this commendable feat.
