By Darren Gilbert

Here are three publicity stunts that should have never been attempted.

Steal my identity

In 2007, Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock, an identity protection company, decided it was a good idea to put his own identity on the line for a publicity stunt. Now, theoretically, it’s not such a bad idea: as Davis said, what better way to prove that his company could protect the identity of their clients than by placing his information out in the public. However, that is how it should have stayed; an idea.

Two years later, it was found that his identity had been stolen 13 times while there were another 80-odd unsuccessful attempts. While Davis claims that this was proof that LifeLock worked; the Federal Trade Commission didn’t think so. In 2010, LifeLock was fined $12-million for “operating a scam and con operation”.

Live animals do not make good gifts

Whoever thought of including live animals in promotion gifts was clearly not thinking straight. In an effort to encourage media agencies to promote South Australia, Advantage SA along with Advantage Adelaide delivered live goldfish in bowls along with the message; “Be the big fish in a small pond and come test the water”.

It ended in dozens of goldfish dying and just as many complaints. The company also had to publically apologise. The only thing that saved it from prosecution was the fact that according to the RSPCA, “fish are not included under the definition of animals in South Australia”. Regardless of that ruling, live animals will never make good gifts. And as a reader right noted, animals shouldn’t be treated as marketing tools.

Hold your Wee for a Wii

KDND 107.9, a radio station in Sacramento, California, held a competition in January 2007, which they aptly named ‘Hold your Wee for a Wii.’ The competition had a simple enough premise: contestants had to drink as much water as they could without going to be bathroom in order to win a Nintendo Wii, which had launched in November 2006 and was near impossible to find in America at the time. Tragically, it ended in a woman, Jennifer Strange, dying of water intoxication. What is worse is that the radio station knew of the potential dangers and even took a few callers mid-competition who declared that drinking too much water could be fatal, a fact which they dismissed.

In 2009, a California jury ruled in favour of the family who had filed a wrongful death suit. That cost the company $16.5-million. The station also fired 10 people associated with the show which was later cancelled.

Among other things, one simple fact should be drawn out of these three examples: when planning any publicity stunt, ensure that you’ve done the necessary research and know all possible outcomes. What may seem like a great idea one day can turn into a disaster the next.

Can you think of any other publicity stunts that went wrong? Let us know below.