In the late 19th century, the fictional Phileas Fogg travelled around the world in 80 days, and symbolically ushered in the age of global tourism. In the first few months of 2006, an Australian couple took on a different challenge; to drive around the world using less than 50 tanks of petrol... and by doing so herald in a new age of fuel economy.

A husband and wife setting off on a road trip around the world sounds like a potential recipe for divorce. Driving day and night, side by side through fluctuating weather, road, and traffic conditions, whist keeping to the strictest fuel conservation regime, this was the ultimate test even for the most skilled drivers and the strongest marriage. But pushing the boundaries of human and technological achievement is what breaking world records is all about, and John and Helen Taylor, veterans of over thirty challenges of this type, knew what they were getting into.

The Taylors embarked on their attempt to set the Guinness World Record for fuel efficiency using a new fuel from Shell - the Fuel Economy Formulation. As they did so JCPR geared up to face its own series of challenges sustaining global media interest for the duration of the trip.
Despite their unique qualities - a middle-aged couple out to break a world record - it was the Taylors' ordinary and human features that underlay their worldwide appeal. They chose the popular hatchback Volkswagen Golf FSI for the trip, and even stopped off at their daughter's wedding en route. JCPR capitalised on their broad appeal and ensured Shell's messaging was seen by the broadest audiences possible, finally reaching an estimated audience of 1.6 billion people worldwide - equivalent to well over a fifth of the human race.

JCPR's global PR campaign revealed that far from a couple bickering behind the wheel, the Taylors remained extraordinarily calm throughout the whole 78 day trip. They were also a model of safe and efficient driving, eventually completing their travels on only 24 refills. Nevertheless, as with most adventure stories, it was the potential for failure that kept people hooked.

Each location had its own dangers. According to John Taylor's blog, Milan was maddening, although he managed to keep his head when those around were losing theirs; they had to keep both eyes peeled for rogue kangaroos in the Australian outback; maximum alertness was needed to travel through India, and Pakistan's roads were changeable and unpredictable.
As the Taylors travelled 28,970 Km across the earth's continents, experiencing ice storms, flash floods, a tornado, dancing camels and donkey carts, JCPR orchestrated a multi-lingual rollout of media coverage which generated over 1,200 pieces of media coverage in 25 countries. Absolute flexibility was required in order to maximise media opportunities and JCPR proved to be a master of this art. Not even the Taylors knew what they might encounter, anything was on the cards, which made JCPR's job more challenging.

Humanising the campaign was key to escalating and maintaining interest, and JCPR played on the fact that the Taylors had become a sub-brand that crossed cultural boundaries. While anticipation grew surrounding the fuel challenge, people kept watching the Taylors, whose ability to remain focused on their goal hooked people's attention and helped make the whole campaign a huge success.

The campaign marked something of a departure for Shell's marketing team. The standard strategy would have been to pass the promotional reins over to advertising and BTL support. Letting PR take the lead was a risk but the advantages of taking that risk became abundantly clear quickly.
With JCPR tapping into its parent agency Edelman's global reach, it had access to a unique worldwide network of teams who could help best present the highlights and challenges of the Taylor's record attempt to local audiences. The highly visual launch and finale events attracted huge interest from international broadcasters and print media; and, throughout the trip, wherever the Taylors were located, a story angle was found and targeted to local press.

To optimise international media activity, JCPR set up a global media desk in London. Media organisations from all over the world could easily get detailed PR tool kits complete with B-roll footage, images, fuel saving tips, country by country fact sheets, Guinness rules and regulations, biographies of the crew and 'the science behind the fuel', and smaller organisations could easily follow the Taylors' progress as they journeyed on to other climes.
Story angles were geared to make the record attempt relevant to the greatest number of media sectors and cultures, from launch to completion. Stories made it into business titles; travel, motoring and career supplements; and other publications, not to mention several broadcasting organisations; the most notable included the Discovery Channel, CBS, the BBC World Service, Sky News, the Pakistan Observer, the Times of India, CNBC India, Sin Chew Daily of Malaysia, and the Herald Sun in Australia.

As a global project the web naturally lent itself to the campaign, and JCPR set up a website and distriibuted E-bulletins to those who wanted to remain continually informed of the Taylors' progress. Along with the Taylors' blog, the website at www.FuelChallenge.com provided a useful tool for anyone following the Taylors and itself attracted 168,630 visits from January 2006.

With vehicle details and statistics, photographic evidence, a press centre, information about Shell's fuel formula, and tips on how best to conserve fuel, JCPR ensured that the media and members of the public were given a full picture of Shell's part in the Taylors' remarkable story.