In an unlikely turn, Topps turns Valentine's Day into home-run publicity

With some creativity, you can combine just about anything and create a winning PR event.

Yesterday was a big day. Valentine's Day grabbed the headlines. (As an aside, here in Florida we were basking in another glow: the first day of spring training.) Topps, celebrating a 60th anniversary, naturally correlated Valentine's Day to baseball cards and whipped up a great PR event. Wait ... what? All it took was Grand Central Terminal, a ball pit (ANYTHING with a ball pit is bound to be a winner), ten bachelors and a huge rock:

Ten bachelors dressed in tuxedos vied for the chance to win a diamond engagement ring worth $10,000, while their girlfriends cheered them on. To enter they had to come up with a video detailing why they should be eligible to win a ring. An enormous ball pit was set up in Grand Central Terminal, NYC and the men went "digging" for the treasure. It took only a few seconds for one lucky groom-to-be to emerge victorious. Stanley Brode plucked the ring hidden in a squishy apple and then proceeded to propose to his girlfriend, who accepted gleefully.

Happy 60th anniversary, Topps. Thanks for showing us some real PR creativity. (And good luck to Stanly Brode and his fiancee.)