We love a good PR stunt here at Skout so hats off to the creative team behind the media launch of Bear Grylls new show for the Discovery Channel.
Now we all know that Bear is one of those adventurous types, but what sort of stunt could he pull to excite his fans and ensure they tune into watch his new series, Bear Grylls: Escape from Hell? How about abseiling down a flame engulfed Battersea Power Station? Dangerous….tick! Exciting…..tick! Did anyone think the flames were real…….tick!
Yes – the flames lighting up the Grade II listed building were in fact projected onto the building for dramatic effect but convinced that the Power Station was really on fire, one concerned passer-by dialled 999 to report that the building was ablaze.
On arrival at the site, firefighters quickly realised it was a false alarm. However, it certainly added even more drama to the launch with the national media picking up on the story and Bear making the headlines in ways in probably hadn’t even planned to. However, anyone thinking of attempting anything similar might want to think twice as Bear and the Discovery Channel got their knuckles wrapped by the London Fire Brigade. They tweeted: ‘Bear Grylls’ #EscapeFromHell made an impact last night but @DiscoveryUK it would be good to let us know so we don’t waste our fire engines.’