Which brand stunts still live rent free in your brain?

Real talk: Pranking consumers is harder now than it was when Taco Bell convinced everyone that they had bought the Liberty Bell. But stunts are a great way to create an engaging story, get a little PR boost, and flex some creative muscles. And you don’t need to wait for April Fools’ Day to do them.

Chili’s gets it 

A “retro” Chili’s (“retro” in this case meaning the year 2000 🫣), which honors its role in “The Office,” opens in Scranton next week. The menu includes classic favorites (hello, Awesome Blossom) and new treats like the Scranton Margarita. And the launch’s ad campaign features some familiar office mates.

Why it works

Nostalgia is strong in 2025. Both Chili’s and “The Office” hold a special place in the hearts of Gen Xers and Millennials who remember a simpler time when Michael Scott was the worst leader you could think of.

You can still dunk in the dark

Sometimes a stunt opportunity knocks, and all you have to do is pay attention long enough to answer. Like during the great Super Bowl blackout of 2013. While other social media managers took that moment to refill the chip bowl, Oreo’s reminded Twitter that “You can still dunk in the dark.”

Why it worked

In 2013, you were most definitely watching live TV moments with thousands of your closest Twitter friends. Which means that when the stadium went dark, we were all experiencing it “together.” Timing and context are everything.

Nescafé’s Instant Connections

This is one of our all-time favorite stunts.

These red Nescafé machines appeared on opposite street corners. If commuters at each corner, who could see each other on a monitor, pressed a button at the same time, the machines would dispense a free coffee. And just like that, commuters who would normally ignore each other shared a moment — with a Nescafé branded cup.

Why it worked

Nescafé was a supporting character in this story. The main characters were the commuters. Whenever a stunt can spotlight the consumer instead of the brand and create a little surprise and delight, it’s got all the makings of a memorable event.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Remember when everyone was dumping ice on their heads in your Facebook feed? If you were scrolling in 2014, you do. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised awareness and spread far and wide by encouraging people to tag someone (or several someones) who should take the challenge next, raising millions for the cause. 

Why it worked

Instagram and Facebook were still so young, the steps to going viral were much simpler, and charitable causes were a big part of the game (remember when we all asked our FB followers to donate to our favorite causes for our birthdays?). ALS used that to its advantage. And it worked.

A Visible typo

Stunts can also be a great way to turn a mistake into a great story. When the team at Visible let a typo go live on a billboard, they could have done a quick fix and moved on.

Instead, they hired masseuses and offered free massages to passersby.

Why it worked

Obviously nobody expects a massage from their cell company (or from a company that is not their cell provider). But what is more memorable is that Visible acted authentically. They made a mistake and were not afraid to joke about it.

One stunt that we would love to stop talking about: the Red Bull Space Jump.

In fact, let’s just stop creating stunts that involve space travel at all — they’re needlessly expensive when, as we’ve seen, a memorable stunt can be achieved for the cost of a tweet.