top outdoor brand stunts and activations explained
Originally published August 2022. Updated October 17, 2026.
The best outdoor brand stunts turn a public moment into news, and four verified cases show how: Red Bull Stratos in 2012, an IKEA apartment in a Paris metro station in 2012, Liquid Death's blood-painted skateboards in 2021 and CeraVe's Michael Cera mystery in 2024. Each earned coverage far beyond its media spend, and each is documented below with a named source. For the full discipline, formats and decision test, see EPR's guide to what a publicity stunt is.
Red Bull Stratos: what happened and why it worked
On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner jumped from a balloon capsule at 127,852 feet over New Mexico and broke the sound barrier in freefall, according to National Geographic. Guinness World Records reports that more than 8 million people watched the live YouTube stream at once, against a previous record of about half a million.
Red Bull did not sponsor the moment. It produced, streamed and owned it, so every outlet credited one brand. Earned media value estimates vary and are not independently verified.
IKEA's Paris metro apartment: a showroom in public space
In January 2012, IKEA built a 54 square meter apartment inside the Auber metro station in Paris, where five volunteers lived from January 9 to 14 while commuters watched, according to LS:N Global. The agency was Ubi Bene.
Bizcommunity reports that the aim was to show how IKEA storage could make a very small space habitable, and that a Facebook contest offered a night in the flat. The same report counted 10,276 likes and 364 comments on IKEA France's page by January 2012.
The idea worked because it made the product claim visible. Passers-by could see the furniture solving the exact problem the brand wanted to own, without a single advertisement.
Liquid Death's Tony Hawk skateboards: a brand voice as the strategy
In August 2021, Liquid Death released 100 skateboard decks painted with a red that mixed in the blood of its ambassador Tony Hawk. The boards cost $500 each, and a KGTV report said they sold out within about 20 minutes.
Andy Pearson, Liquid Death's vice president of creative, told Campaign US that the brand was trying to have fun and get people excited. The stunt fit a brand that, per Retail Dive, reached a $1.4 billion valuation in March 2024. EPR covers the company in Liquid Death public relations.
CeraVe and Michael Cera: a public mystery with a Super Bowl payoff
Before its first Super Bowl in February 2024, CeraVe spent about four weeks spreading a false theory that actor Michael Cera had founded the brand. According to WPP, 450 influencers helped fuel the speculation, and the Super Bowl ad revealed that CeraVe was developed with dermatologists.
Ogilvy PR's Cannes Lions entry reports 32 billion earned impressions against a goal of 1 billion. These are the agency's own figures and not an independent audit.
What do the four stunts have in common?
The four stunts share one pattern: each put a visible, photographable moment in front of the public and let coverage do the distribution.
Red Bull and IKEA staged events that anyone could watch, live or in passing.
Liquid Death and CeraVe built stories that fit the brand's voice, so reporters explained the brand while explaining the stunt.
All four resolved to a clear product point: energy and extremes, small-space storage, a brand with attitude, and dermatologist expertise.
The practical lesson is to design the moment to be photographed first, and to measure the result in coverage earned, not impressions bought.
A successful outdoor stunt makes the brand's product claim visible in a moment that people want to photograph and share. The four cases here measured success by coverage earned rather than impressions bought.
What was the most successful outdoor brand stunt ever?
Red Bull Stratos is the usual benchmark. Guinness World Records reports more than 8 million concurrent YouTube viewers for the 2012 jump, on a project Red Bull produced and owned rather than sponsored.
Can smaller brands run stunts like these?
Yes, because cost scales with ambition and not with the format. The IKEA apartment and the Liquid Death skateboards were far smaller than Red Bull Stratos, and both relied on a clear idea that fit the brand.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
