In the late 1970s, WKRP in Cincinnati was a sitcom about a struggling Ohio radio station and the eccentric collection of characters trying to keep it on the air after switching formats from easy listening to rock and roll. While the show had its share of memorable moments, few could top “Turkeys Away,” an episode that originally aired on October 30, 1978. In what he believed to be “the greatest promotional idea of all time,” WKRP’s bumbling station manager, Arthur Carlson, dreamed up a Thanksgiving publicity stunt that involved dropping live turkeys from a helicopter over a crowded shopping mall. Unfortunately, nobody involved had considered that the domesticated turkeys being used weren’t exactly built for flight. What followed was one of the most hilariously disastrous promotions in television history, captured in a live remote broadcast by WKRP newsman Les Nessman:
“Something just came out of the back of the helicopter. It’s a dark object. Perhaps a skydiver. A second. A third… No parachute yet. Oh my God! They’re turkeys! They’re crashing to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! This is terrible! Oh, the humanity! The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! The crowd is running for their lives!”
Needless to say, the promotion was an unmitigated disaster, though it certainly got WKRP some attention, just not the kind anyone had hoped for. While WKRP in Cincinnati wasn’t always comedic gold, its wonderfully mismatched cast had undeniable chemistry, and “Turkeys Away” remains one of the show’s finest moments. Nearly half a century later, this hilariously misguided Thanksgiving stunt still holds a special place in American pop culture, proving that sometimes the greatest promotional ideas make for the biggest disasters.
