Yes, that is a 50ft bath toy floating down the river Thames. In December, online bingo portal JackpotJoy sent the oversized plastic duck past iconic London riverside sites in an outdoor publicity stunt promoting the launch of the brand's Facebook FUNdation initiative. The scheme nurtures a £250,000 pot of 'FUNds', which JackpotJoy promise to distribute amongst winning proposals in order to inject a stream of humour back into our recession-plagued nation.
With Barbara Windsor as a mascot, JackpotJoy's mission is to encourage Britain to crack a smile every now and then. Their latest mischievous exploit is already underway, and the brand have commissioned designers to produce an artistic impression of an idea which should have one of London's skyscrapers in a bit of a pickle...
The iconic 'Gherkin' building, real name '30 St Mary Axe', stands 180 metres above the City of London's financial district. Primarily housing the reinsurance company Swiss Re and international law firm Kirkland & Ellis, the Gherkin could soon become a more accurate representation of its savoury moniker.
The enlisted designers have generated this suggested model, accompanied by a more professional proposal, and JackpotJoy are merely awaiting a response from the corporate decision-makers in charge of the structure. Pencilled in for April Fool's day, the project would involve 900 hours of manual labour from 10 willing workers, as they wrapped the colossal, glass cucumber in a special non-reflective, nobbled coating. Not so much fun for them.
Anyway, the idea is admittedly pretty funny. Imagine sprinting out of Liverpool Street Station in a flurry of bankers and legal executives, only to look up and see a huge, olive-coloured growth poking up amongst the abyss of glass and weathered brick.
JackpotJoy's MD Michael Saunders says: “It’s been a long and rather miserable winter and we felt everyone was in dire need of cheering up again. The Gherkin is such an iconic building, and with a name like that we just couldn’t resist the opportunity for some more daft fun by attempting to transform it into the very thing it is so aptly named after! It would make for a hilarious and spectacular sight that we’re certain would spread a lot of smiles and laughter across the capital.”
JackpotJoy are also in the midst of Comic Relief fun, with a series of special Red Nose Day games which will see profits donated to the charitable cause. Their trusty benefactor Windsor takes prime position across the television campaign: