Mercedes-Benz Canada Sets “Most Balloons Suspended by Static Electricity" World Record

“The smart fortwo electric drive is an ideal urban mobility solution for many reasons, including its small stature. To introduce the new model to Canada, we wanted to have some fun and prove that big ideas can come from small packages with an initiative as modern, fun and quirky as the vehicle itself,” says Virginie Aubert, Vice President of Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Canada.

A team consisting of employees from Mercedes-Benz Canada and its advertising and media agencies, BBDO and OMD, set a new Guinness World Records title by using static electricity to hang 415 balloons from a single wall. The Guinness World Records title setting feat took place at a sound stage in Toronto’s west end on September 29, 2017.

“As adjudicators, we're called upon to judge, and often marvel, at the living embodiments of human imagination," said Philip Robertson, Guinness World Records adjudicator. "Mercedes-Benz achieved an electrifying Guinness World Records title, and introduced a new electric vehicle in an ingeniously creative way." 

This electrifying accomplishment took careful planning and several rounds of testing. There was no blood, sweat or tears – moisture isn’t conducive to static electricity – but a lot of human energy to generate the electric charge required to suspend the balloons. Per official requirements, the balloons were inflated manually (a handheld pump was permitted) and no participants in the record-setting had product in their hair, as it would have artificially increased the adhesiveness of the balloons.