In a conversation that did wonders for the egos of myself and co-writers, an agency lead accosted me a few weeks ago to ask ‘where Stuntwatch had gone?’ After I explained that even the most passionate PR observers have to go on holiday, get married, move jobs and have second children, he hit me with the follow up question: “How do we get into Stuntwatch?”

Whilst attempts at bribery are always appreciated (but always rebuffed), the only way you end up in Stuntwatch is if you deliver a certifiable banger. However, we have all written and read enough award entries to know that PR people are exceptional at presenting ideas that made a decent splash to look like campaigns that made waves.

As a result, there are some unwritten rules that apply to Stuntwatch to ensure we are not seduced by a founder’s excitable LinkedIn post, or a campaign that - on closer inspection - was reliant on a Neil Shaw special. So, as we head into the Autumn months, we are going to lift the lid on a few ways to guarantee yourself some coverage with the Stuntwatch team, and fear not dear reader, you do not not need to fork out on a survey.

Lidl’s Mystery Box

The easiest way of getting on Stuntwatch? Get a mountain of earned coverage for a culturally-relevant and consumer-friendly icon and that’s exactly what Lidl’s Mystery Box delivered.

The middle aisle of Lidl is up there with the Greggs sausage roll in terms of British high street adoration, so the decision to convert this obsession into a neatly packed box was inspired. The £20 mystery box was filled with over £100 worth of middle of Lidl products, which were released at 10am on 15th August, and sold out in minutes.

The value of the items in the box far outstripped the £20 cover, with customers ending up with big ticket items like dehumidifiers and coffee machines, accompanied by the ‘might-need-it-one-day’ tat that makes the middle of Lidl such a staple of British culture. As a nice purposeful touch, all proceeds of the mystery box went to NSPCC - Lidl’s long standing charity partner.

This move was as popular on Fleet Street as it was Facebook, with coverage ranging from national newspapers to Netmums. It’s no mystery how this one ended up in Stuntwatch.

Team GB’s Accents of Greatness

Another surefire way to end up on Stuntwatch is to appear ‘in feed’ of one of the writers and that’s exactly what happened with Team GB’s Accents of Greatness.

Like every other once-decent-now-a-bit-fat-sportsman, I adore the Olympics and this one had it all. Australian breakdancers, Turkish sharpshooters and most importantly for an English viewer, the French getting panned for essentially being ‘too French’ with their opening ceremony.

But my favourite thing about the Olympics is that it shows a version of our country that we can all get behind. Whether you are more familiar with country estates or council estates, there is someone in that team that you can relate to. We won stuff on horses, we should have won stuff on BMXs. Team GB has Scots and Scousers and some athletes who sound like a country yokel, some that sound like a geezer in your local.

It was this insight that inspired an exceptional piece of content performed by the poet Harry Baker that was designed to get the nation behind Team GB. Emotive spoken word is well-trodden in the world of sport, but this one ended up ‘in feed’ because it hits different and also because it hit so many people. A poem made up of and performed by all the different accents of the UK.

The video is well into a million views across all socials, but for me - this piece is all about the comments section. People absolutely adored it. They said it made them smile, they said it made them cry, some even said it made them feel proud to be British - a particularly special sentiment given the country’s current race riot induced identity crisis. Gold-standard stuff. 

Southampton Boat Show’s ‘head of seagull security’

Having gone a bit deep and meaningful with the previous entry, we are going to finish this Stuntwatch with some silly season gold and a golden rule for Stuntwatch that may only apply to this writer…if you do something with the holy tabloid trinity of seagulls, potholes or sharks - you have a very strong chance of being included.

That’s exactly what the Southampton Boat Show did with their latest hire - Rufus The Hawk in the role of head of seagull security’.

This idea does not need any explanation, which is why it is such a good one. Southampton Boat Show is by the sea, which means the chip-stealing, dive-bombing, criminals of the coast will also be present. Seagulls have the potential to ruin your day, so here is a hawk to keep them at bay. For those who have an eye for bird celebrities, Rufus The Hawk is also well known for patrolling the Wimbledon courts to keep pigeons at bay - so this isn’t any old hawk, this is the hawk.

A great picture, some genuinely hilarious research about the amount of chips stolen by seagulls and a famous hawk? What more do you want? A really smart, simple idea that was executed well enough to get that most holy of grails - PR coverage on the BBC. Rufus has passed with flying colours.