VIENNA. On September 4, 2021, Red Bull athlete and stunt pilot Dario Costa made flight history in his Zivko machine with the “Tunnel Pass Project”, whereby a lifelong dream of the former Red Bull Air Race pilot became a reality: Costa became an incredible 278 km flight /h in Istanbul became the first person to successfully maneuver an airplane through a tunnel – which not only gave him 5 world records and
an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, but ultimately globally for over 1.7 billion euros
Earned media value provided.
While the exceptional athlete Costa brought the necessary willpower to the start to explore his own limits, the brand partnership experts from Now Serviceplan, together with the creative powerhouse Wien Nord Serviceplan from the House of Communication Vienna, brought the right brands on board, which enabled Dario to to perfect his training for a stunt that allowed no mistakes: After an uncompromising 14-month cognitive and physical training program in which Costa managed to minimize his reaction time to 0.25 seconds, he tested it with the help of Brand Partner and speed specialist BMW M at high speed on the BMW test track. For this purpose, a 360-degree camera was mounted on the car roof, exactly at Dario’s eye level during the flight, which allowed him to virtually practice the flight over a thousand times using VR.
With only 2 meters between the wingtips and the tunnel walls, the pilot’s eyes had to focus forward at all times to stay on track. Therefore, together with the Swiss brand partner and luxury watch manufacturer Hamilton, a special edition watch was developed whose dial could be removed and mounted centrally on the console. In this way, Dario’s view of the mission remained fixed without losing sight of essential timing stages. 100 pieces of the limited edition were produced and sold out within minutes.
Kurt Kaiser, Managing Partner at Now Serviceplan, underlines the importance of choosing the right brand
Partner: “How do you prepare for something that has never been dared before? Our brand partners BMW M and
Hamilton Watches used their expertise to help Dario keep maximum focus and under as possible
to train under realistic conditions for the record attempt.”
After the successful flight was played out via Red Bull, BMW and Hamilton channels, it went quickly
went viral and received worldwide coverage, eventually resulting in over 1.7 billion euros in earned media value
Costa and the brands at his side generated. At the world famous New York Festivals Advertising
Awards 2022, the successful brand partnership around the “Tunnel Pass Project” has now been awarded gold in the
Category “Sports / Best Use of Events & Stunts” and bronze in the category “Sports / Best Use of
Collaboration & Partnerships”.
Dario Costa, who became a star overnight thanks to his historic flight, is currently writing a book that will
tells the story and the intensive preparations behind this dream come true. (red)
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