Is that The Stig?

It's been all over the news in the last week about the true identity of BBC Top Gear's 'Stig'. After a local newspaper broke the story and released details of The Stig's real name, the interweb has been a flurry of chatter and excitement. But the story goes deeper.

For those who are not regular viewers I'll give a brief background. The Stig we know now is not the first Stig. He's at least the second. The first was supposedly killed in a Top Gear stunt "that went wrong".

However, during the week the BBC released the following video along with this press release:
“until now, the original Stig from BBC Top Gear was thought to have been killed back in 2003, when he drove a modified Jaguar XJS off the end of HMS Invincible aircraft carrier at 109mph. . . The nation was shocked that the Stig was dead. However, recent footage has been found on YouTube showing that he miraculously survived.”



So what's all this about. Who is The Stig? Well one things for certain and that's that the BBC are brilliant marketers. A video with over 26,000 views in 3 days, and an awful lot of online chatter. This is a great viral campaign that is fueled by simple mystery. Good Job!

There's also a microsite about The Stig's return.