PR Stunt Watch: hot dogs, actual dogs, and is killer AI actually killer PR?

Hot dogs cause more food-related choking deaths than any other food in the world.

Dogs kill 25,000-30,000 people a year, and AI, well, AI could kill us all. But rather than just objects of human destruction, they are all subjects of this week’s Stunt Watch.

A Quik hot dog for all

We’ll start with a killer hot dog creative from our friends across the pond, specifically QuikTrip, a convenience store brand operating in the Midwest.

For those looking for a UK comparison, they are basically the "Nisa" of the Midwest, and therefore, as well as your news and milk, they also sell hot dogs at hot counters.

To celebrate this fantastic bit of product news, IT used its sponsorship of the Kansas City Royals to initiate a half-time challenge, which combined participation and silliness to create a viral sensation. Fans in the stands were given 30 seconds to pass, toss, and guide two giant separate inflatables – a frankfurter and a bun – through the crowd.

The crowd coordinated to slide the giant sausage perfectly into the bun, right before the timer expired. Completing the stunt meant that the entire stadium won free QuikTrip hot dogs.

A nightmare for the operators of QuikTrip’s roller grill, but a stroke of genius from the marketing team.

From LinkedIn to local news, this stunt got people talking, and walking into QuikTrip stores. From a commercial point of view, I’m never leaving a convenience store with just a hot dog – so I suspect they made their money back in footfall.

From a creative point of view, I love how this same idea could have been easily replicated with AI… but where’s the fun in that? It’s a bit daft, but it required coordination, participation, and ended with elation. "Real, human slop" will always top "fake AI slop".

Who's the good boy (or girl)?

Another thing AI can’t replicate? Dogs. This writer holds the belief that all dogs are incredible, but Guide Dogs have a strong argument for being the best of the lot. It’s no wonder they are such good boys (and girls), when they have such good humans running the charity behind them.

Riffing off the insight that people with sight loss do not get to experience life-changing moments that others take for granted, the "First Hello" initiative will give those who cannot see ultrasound screens or printouts the chance to trace and feel the contours of their baby before they arrive.

They are created by uploading a 20-week 2D ultrasound scan, which is then transformed into a render and 3D-printed. Expectant parents with sight loss, as well as their family members with impaired vision, can order bespoke tactile sonograms online, with 50 being made available in the first trial run. Tugging at the heartstrings of parents, dog lovers and publishers alike, it’s genuinely brilliant to see purpose-driven work back in the fold.

The end of the world as we know it?

By its very nature, Stunt Watch has a flair for the dramatic, but even by our standards…ending on a note about the end of the world is quite the flourish.

Yesterday afternoon, Jacob Coxon – AI researcher – publicly resigned from Anthropic. His reasoning? AI is going to kill us all.

Posted on X, his post went viral globally and currently has just under 200m views. With details on self-awareness, superintelligence, and AI’s apparent ability to self-regulate, it is a genuinely terrifying read that sent shockwaves through experts and media alike. For fans of the Terminator franchise, we are at the point in the film where Skynet should have been switched off and on again.

However, while amusement is definitely one response… there is a growing body of evidence that these resignations are not as straightforward as they seem. Some have speculated that Anthropic is coordinating this sort of messaging to "hype" their product.

Earlier in the year, Anthropic heavily hyped its upcoming Claude Mythos model by withholding it from the public on extreme "cybersecurity risk" grounds. Critics on LinkedIn and platforms like The Guardian noted that framing a model as literally too dangerous for humanity creates massive exclusivity, drives organic hype, and attracts aggressive venture capital.

Anthropic is also actively seeking a historic $2 trillion valuation for its upcoming IPO. Its entire market differentiator against OpenAI is its branding as the "responsible, safety-oriented lab". Playing up existential risk keeps Anthropic at the heart of the regulatory conversation, potentially allowing it to help pull up the ladder on smaller open-source competitors via regulatory capture.

Feel better? Let’s end it there. It’s probably just a stunt. The world isn’t going to end.

You see? Stunts rule the world... probably.

Article written by Greg Double, creative director at Burson and first published on PRmoment.com