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Radio Promotions That Didn’t Go According to Plan – Part 3

By David Kidd, BPR

Thanks to Gavin Robertson for this one.

Let’s check out the UK.

In August 2001, Birmingham based radio station BRMB subjected contestants to a challenge. The “Coolest seat in town” competition required contestants to sit on solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) at a freezing temperature of -78°C.  The competition was held in the heart of Birmingham in Broad Street, and the prize was tickets to Birmingham’s Party in the Park, starring Geri Halliwell and A1, and a chance to introduce one of the acts.

Unfortunately, three of the contestants ended up being sent to hospital for treatment which included extensive skin grafts. They remained in hospital for up to 10 weeks.

Helen Terry, 25, who took part in the contest and was hospitalised said: “It was just horrendous. You just don’t think anything like that is going to happen.

“I was told it was the worst burns that the nurses at the unit had ever seen. The surgeon said that if the burns had been on my hands or feet, they would have been amputated – that’s how serious it was.”

As a result, BRMB was charged with breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which requires employers to ensure that they do not expose those not in their employment to risks to their health and safety.

BRMB was charged and fined £15,000. Civil claims by the three for personal injury were also made with large damages payouts being awarded.