Can only imagine that Amazon Prime has discovered that the ‘Clarkson pull’ has not attracted as many paying customers as they’d hoped… The press seem to have bought it, but have the public?
Commuters in King’s Cross were today treated to a foretaste of the destruction that will be inflicted on cars all over the world when the former Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return to TV on Friday.
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An abandoned “crashed” Toyota Prius bearing the personalised numberplate M4Y was left crumpled against a red post box.
A similar stunt surprised passers-by in Berlin’s Hackescher Markt where another damaged Prius — with the numberplate H4MMOND — was protruding out of the ground.
The staged accidents are part of the build-up to the launch of The Grand Tour TV series, which will be released on Amazon Prime 20 months after the trio quit the BBC…
So there are three smashed up cars (the third in America, on the Hollywood walk of fame) drawing in the press to publicise it for them: note that the car is not locked and the door is open to help with the posing. But that was not going to be the last of the publicity, as the Evening Standard (complete with spelling mistake – theirs not mine!) predicted…:
A third ‘accident’ is expetced to take place somewhere in the UK on Tuesday afternoon.
Behold, the next bit of programme propaganda:
A SHOCKED Jeremy Clarkson was kicked off a flight by an airport worker who crowed “I’m from Argentina so ******* you!” in a tirade over the Falklands.
The TV star, 56, was due to fly home with pals James May and Richard Hammond when check-in agent Manuel Pereira stopped them boarding.
They reported him to police in Stuttgart, Germany.
Jeremy, caught up in a diplomatic row with Argentina over a Falklands number plate in a Top Gear episode, said: “He’s a stupid, bitter and twisted little man.”
Clarkson vowed revenge last night on the “ignorant little worm” who he says stopped him from getting his flight home.
The TV presenter called for Stuttgart Airport worker Manuel Pereira’s arrest after he ranted: “******* you!”
Clarkson fumed: “This ignorant little worm made us miss our plane and he will pay for it.
“The police said it was a hate crime and he would be arrested. Yes, even the Germans were 100 per cent on our side — for once.”
Clarkson, Hammond and May were waiting to go home on Monday night after filming their new Grand Tour show.
They got the call to board their BA flight to Heathrow but were stopped at the departure gate.
Clarkson said: “Our security guys turned round and said, ‘They’re not letting us on.’
“I said to this little bald guy, ‘What’s the problem?’ He had a big smile on his face. He said, ‘You’ve missed it.’ We said we had left the lounge when we were told, and he said, ‘I’m from Argentina so ******* you.’
Clarkson accused Pereira of deliberately delaying them — and even spreading lies to stop them boarding.
He said: “His colleagues were suggesting we were too drunk.
“But we’d had one can of beer. The police met us and could see we were sober and promised they would sort him out. They’re horrified. He’s toast.”
Sun columnist Clarkson also told how Pereira’s delaying tactics backfired.
He said: “We had to get an easyJet flight to Gatwick instead but the BA one ended up being delayed anyway.
“So we actually got back sooner. It’s England 1, Argentina 0 again.
“He’s a stupid, bitter and twisted little man who can’t get it into his head that Argentina’s armed forces are completely useless.”
Then…
The airport where Jeremy Clarkson claims a worker refused to let the presenters of The Grand Tour on to a flight in revenge for a row over the Falklands has challenged his account, saying the employee was Spanish rather than Argentinian and the trio were too late to board.
Stuttgart airport said that while the reports suggested a member of its ground staff had behaved in a way that had not met its standards in a dispute with the former Top Gear presenters, the trio had missed repeated calls to board while sitting in the lounge.
A spokesperson said: “Due to airline policy, after a certain time of absence the luggage will be removed from the aircraft and the missing passengers will be withdrawn from the passenger list. From this point there is no chance for boarding, even if the passengers show up.
“Nevertheless the personal behaviour of the staff member described in the media does not conform to our approach on customer service at Stuttgart airport. Stuttgart ground services will investigate the event with its staff. We do already know that the employee mentioned is Spanish, not Argentinian.”
So has it backfired? Maybe the wheels have come off the juggernaut and they are doing all they can to drum up some attention?
And the ‘Argentinian’ – was there actually any problem (other than them spending to long in the bar) and after being informed – by a Spaniard, no less, who still hasn’t been arrest – that they were too late for their flight did they pick on the hapless foreigner and try to put his job in jeopardy?
And the ditching of BA for EasyJet, supposedly getting back before he would have – it turns out that Clarkson’s BA flight (BA919) arrived 30 mins late at Heathrow on Monday, having been delayed 70 mins, whereas EasyJet (EZY8526) was over an hour late, despite having been delayed for 90 mins – plenty of time to talk with the police and get the gist of the story going, but it was never going to arrive before the BA flight at the home of BA. Maybe Clarkson was so distraught at missing his original flight he had drowned his sorrows, like he does, and not noticed the time of arrival.
And why does he need security people in Stuttgart?
Plus the story writer was one Nick Parker – found not guilty concerning payments to police and prison officers but guilty of handling a mobile phone, stolen from an MP, and given three months imprisonment suspended for twelve months. Nice to see he has gone from phone hacking to advertorial pieces…
Meanwhile, the Prius stunts have also raised eyebrows:
Road safety charities have condemned mock car crashes staged as a publicity stunt for Jeremy Clarkson’s new motoring show as “crass, insensitive and desperate”…
…Gary Rae, the campaigns director for the road safety charity Brake, said: “This is a crass, insensitive and desperate stunt. Though I’m not surprised, as this team has a track record of glorifying speed, and ignoring the devastating consequences of dangerous driving. Programmes like Top Gear and its new rival, Grand Tour, need to recognise that car worship is dated and misplaced.”
Edmund King, the president of the AA, said: “The picture clearly illustrates that crashing cars can be incredibly dangerous. However, looking on the brighter side we note that the 2016 Toyota Prius scores the top-rated five stars in EuroNCAP crash tests. We wonder whether The Grand Tour will rate five stars with the viewers.”
And now, of course, this thread is giving them the oxygen of publicity that probably should have been denied them. Don’t think this thread will remind you to watch them though – you were either going to watch it or not – but did you actually buy the stunts as news stories?
As you were.
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November 16, 2016 at 7:23 pm