Two great publicity stunts with Boston connections that you never knew about - by Stanley Hurwitz

Stanley Hurwitz, Creative Communications

You’ll be interested to learn about two historic, exciting – and little-known – publicity stunts with Boston connections that took place before you were born. Both involved kids, pennies and Boston. Both occurred in simpler times before the modern concepts of public relations and marketing were in vogue.

The first campaign, “Pennies for Old Ironsides,” involved the warship U.S.S. Constitution, named by President Washington, launched in 1797, the third frigate built by our young Navy. By 1830, the Constitution was unfit for sea, but the American public was appalled at suggestions to scrap her, especially after publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem “Old Ironsides.” Congress appropriated reconstruction funds and in 1835 she was back in commission. She served as the U.S. flagship in the Mediterranean and South Pacific and made a 30-month voyage around the world beginning in 1844. The ship chased Barbary pirates in the 1850s and served as a training ship during the Civil War. She was retired in 1881. In 1905, public sentiment saved her once more and she became a museum ship in 1907. Threatened again in 1925, the “Pennies for Old Ironsides” campaign was launched among the country’s school children. Kids and groups donated millions of pennies. In school, most Americans learned Holmes’ poem by heart. Children donated $154,000, inspiring other groups to give. That convinced Congress to authorize another $300,000 toward repairs. In 1931, she visited 90 ports along the U. S. Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. More than 4.6 million people visited during the three-year journey until she was docked in Charlestown, Mass. In 1941, she was placed in permanent Navy commission. 

A second marketing campaign of interest: Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo opened in 1912, the same year the Red Sox moved into the new Fenway Park. In 1914, the zoo had 20 bears but no elephants. The owners of three trained Vaudeville elephants offered them to the children of Boston if they could raise $6,000. Recognizing a great PR opportunity, the Boston Post accepted the challenge as a community project and carried stories about kids shoveling snow, putting on shows and doing chores. Reporters tracked the campaign total as children dreamed up ways to raise funds.  In 3 months, (unofficially “Pennies for Pachyderms”) they raised $6,700. On June 6, 1914, a ‘Pachyderm Party’ at Fenway drew 60,000 shrieking kids and parents who welcomed three new zoo residents, Mollie, Waddy and Tony. The program included clowns, acrobats, a marching band and a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator. The governor presented the elephants to mayor James Michael Curley. The Post reported: “The welcome extended to the three elephants was deafening.” After the entertainment, there was a parade to South Station where the elephants were shipped in a special car to Franklin Park. Their arrival and publicity helped put Franklin Park on the map!

Every company and organization has great marketing opportunities. An experienced PR pro knows how to tell the right story, to build the brand and bottom line.

Stanley Hurwitz, principal of Stanley Hurwitz / Creative Communications, Stoughton, Mass.