A giant leap for brands

Since Neil Armstrong’s immortal words in 1969 much has changed in the world.

The computers (not to mention the accelerometers) in our everyday smartphones are now infinitely more powerful than those that guided Armstrong and his crew home.

The world has been shrunk by the advance of connectivity.

But we still get the same kick from experiencing a human being doing something dangerous and brave.

So it was that we shared the experience of Felix Baumgartner stepping away from his capsule at 128,079 feet and accelerating to 834mph.

Indeed, such was the gravity of his feat that BBC1 devoted a full 30 minutes of prime time television coverage to it. This was unmissable TV. Bigger than the biggest commercial break. More audacious than any media stunt.

But unlike Armstrong’s mission this one was not sponsored by the state. The Austrian’s ‘absolutely quiet and absolutely horrifying’ leap was sponsored by Red Bull.

Red Bull is a model of driving its brand in a different way. Before it became fashionable, Red Bull asked not how much media it could pay for but how much news coverage it could earn.

While Red Bull does advertise – and has a famous ‘gives you wings’ campaign slogan – this plays second fiddle to the brand’s real communications agenda which is based on its deeds. It is the brand’s deeds that have captured the world’s attention in many exciting things, none bolder than this fall to earth.

Red Bull has been so brilliant at owning a particular type of bravery that we now expect to see Red Bull whenever there is excitement and danger and where individuals are stepping outside of their personal comfort zones.

43 years on from the first footprints on the moon, it is a mad Austrian and Red Bull who’ve made a mark on us all.

Julian Calderara is Strategy Director for Baby Grand Marketing.