To promote his 1995 albumHIStory , Michael Jackson commission several 32 - ft . statue of himself to be display around the man , including one that floated down the Thames River in London and another down the Champs - Élysées in Paris .
Most artists promote their music with social media posts, awards show performances, and music videos. For some, however, that isn’t enough.
Here are 13 wild and ridiculous publicity stunts artists and labels pulled off to promote their music:
1.To coincide with the release of his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” music video in 2021,Lil Nas Xteamed up with MSCHF to release limited-edition “Satan Shoes” — Nike Air Max 97 with a drop of actual human blood in their soles. Nike itself wasnot involvedwith the project.
Lil Nas Xresponded to backlash over the brake shoe with jokes . For exercise , after South Dakota GovernorKristi Noemtweetedthat " we are in a fight for the individual of our nation , " hereplied , " ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoe . do ur job ! "
2.In 2012,Justin Bieberposteda series oftweetsallegingthat he “had some stuff stolen,” including “personal footage,” during a concert. Then, an anonymous Twitter user named “gexwy” posted that they had the secret video, feuded with the singer, and announced plans to “show the world.” The secret video the account shared turned out to be Justin’s music video for “Beauty and a Beat” featuringNicki Minaj.
last sharing the euphony video , the conjecture thieftweeted , " told you I would carry something WORTH watching and talking about @justinbieber @NICKIMINAJ . "
3.In 2016, band/real-life couple Yachtclaimedthat their sex tape had been stolen and leaked without their consent, so they decided to sell it themselves for $5 in order to “take some kind of ownership over what has happened.” However, the whole thingturned outto be a stunt to promote the music video for their song “I Wanna Fuck You Til I’m Dead.”
The hoax was uncovered through an electronic mail that isthmus member Claire L. Evans sent to someone at Gawker Media and reported byJezebel .
masses who tried to grease one’s palms and download their video reportedly receive an warning notice .
The band ’s Commonwealth of Puerto Rico caller , Motormouthmedia , denied involvement , tweeting , " It ’s clip to tell this . We are not involved in the Yacht berth in any way the idea was devised and executed 100 % without us . "
The next day , following rebound , Claire and her pardner / bandmate , Jona Bechtolt , released anapology program line . It register , " First off , we ’re sorry . The chemical reaction to this endeavor highlights a glaring error we made in position ourselves as the victim of a leaked sex tape . We understand that position it that way from the beginning was an rank error , and are so ashamed we had n’t regard this beforehand . Yes , this was all a ' hoax ' or ' Porto Rico stunt , ' and one we were so aroused to share . While there is inherent deception in rend a fraudulence , it was never our design to mock or make visible light of anyone who has been a victim of a secrecy ravishment like the one we mentioned … After all is said and done , of line you should be unhinged at us . We ’re mad at us , too . "
4.In 1999, the Austrian Press Agencyannouncedthe death of pianist Friedrich Gulda. However, soon after, the outlet retracted the report. A few days later, heinformedjournalists that he was indeed alive and planning to play at his “resurrection party.” He’dreportedlyfaxed in the previous death announcement himself.
He died for really less than a year later .
5.In 1994, two years after announcing their retirement live on stage at the BRIT Awards, The KLF traveled to the Scottish island of Jura and burned £1 million in cash they’d earned through their music.
Member Bill Drummond differentiate theGuardian , " It was n’t about burning all the money . And it was n’t about cleansing anyone ’s individual . In this context , a million is a batch more than two million . A million is the ikon . It ’s what we babble about , woolgather about . It has the power . "
He also said that he did n’t regret it .
You can watch the video below:
6.In 2022,Lana Del Reyonly put up one billboard to promote her upcoming albumDid You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd— in Tulsa, Oklahoma, her ex Sean Larkin’s hometown.
7.DuringQueen ElizabethII’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Sex Pistolsdebutedtheir song “God Save the Queen” — which rhymed “queen” with “fascist regime” — by performing on a boat while floating down the Thames.
City police finish their performance early , and the song itself do so much controversy that some people attacked the band members in world .
8.To promote his song “Take It to the Head” in 2013, DJ Khaled publicly proposed to Nicki Minaj — who was featured on the track — on MTV.
Nicki toldHot 97 ’s Funkmaster Flex,“I was appall just like the rest of the world . I was cracking up laughing with the rest of the world ‘cause Khaled is a master at what he does … It was just another way for him to kinda give the world a glance on the feeling of this record . Nobody in my literal life-time took it seriously . Everybody just hit me like , ' LOL . Yo , Khaled is crazy . ' … He was kidding . He ’s not attracted to me , he does n’t like me . We ’re chum and baby . "
Here’s the full video:
9.In 2010, Gang of Foursoldvials of their own blood in order to fund their albumContent. The vials came with the band’s artwork depicting the last 40 years of world history as well as a scratch and sniff book. The box set cost £45.
to boot , theyoffereda helicopter trip to Glastonbury Festival with the isthmus and a cassette recording of their first - ever spear in a Walkman decorate by extremity Andy Gill and Jon King .
They donate a portion of the proceeds to Amnesty UK and Plan International .
10.To promote their 1996 single “If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You,” Super Furry Animals asked their label, Creation, to “buy an armed vehicle and put a sound system in it,” in lieu of expensive ad placements. A week later, Creation procured a tank for about £10,000. The band got their name and song title painted on it, set up the sound system, then took it with them on the festival circuit.
11.At 10:30 on a Tuesday morning in 2010, Imperial Starsblockedtraffic by parking a big box van bearing their logo across four of the five lanes on the US 101 near Sunset Boulevard in LA. The driver took the keys and left in another vehicle before the band climbed up and played “Traffic Jam 101.” By noon, the band was arrested, and the truck was towed.
The stunt ended up causing a mile - long traffic hole .
The next daylight , guitar player Keith Yackey toldKPCC ’s Alex Cohen , " We were thinking we need to do something heavy to grab the attention of the American people to this cause of the 1.5 million stateless children … A slew of masses will secondly suppose our motif , but we put our money where our backtalk is . "
Two years later , the three member each pled no contest to " one felony charge of conspiracy and misdemeanor charges of creating a public nuisance and resisting or obstructing law enforcement , " concord to theOC Register .
Additionally , in 2013 , a judge ruled that they had to ante up Caltrans ( the California Department of Transportation ) a $ 39,350 restitution fee .
Here’s a video of the stunt:
12.To promote his 1995 albumHIStory, Michael Jacksoncommissionedseveral 32-ft. statues of himself to be displayed around the world, including one that floated down the Thames River in London and another down the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
They were made of blade and fibreglass .
13.And finally, in 1969, The Beatlesplayedtheir very last show together on the roof of Apple Corps, their London building. They played for an audience of friends, family, and cameras for 42 minutes before the police shut it down.
As the show ended , John Lennon reportedly say , " I ’d like to say give thanks you on behalf of the group and ourselves , and I hope we snuff it the audition . "
The performance was film as the finale for the band ’s documentary , Let It Be .
Here’s a clip of the band performing “Don’t Let Me Down”:
