Saint Elmo’s Tourism carpe diems Kelly Clarkson’s internet cuckoo drama

A month ago, Kelly Clarkson ignited a very public internet drama. She wanted to buy a mechanical songbird and publicly expressed on X frustration about how she believed she was treated after the purchase fell through. The store disputed her account and explained that the bird, as a mascot and part of the store’s interior, was not for sale.

Saint Elmo’s Tourism is picking up the story for Schwarzwald Tourismus and making sure Kelly Clarkson gets a songbird of her own after all, in the form of a cuckoo clock made especially for her, one of the Black Forest’s most recognisable symbols. The idea seized the opportunity to bring one of its best-known cultural icons directly into an ongoing pop culture story and turn it into a social-first PR activation within one week, from idea to launch. The special twist – instead of calling ‘cuck-oo,’ the clock calls ‘Kel-ly.’ The region is also inviting the singer to pick up her personal clock in the Black Forest.

The activation is accompanied by a social media campaign in the style of a 9:16 mockumentary under the hashtag #KellyClock. Across several video clips, the destination brand shows how an entire region is trying to solve the US pop star’s bird problem. The clips feature a street survey in Triberg asking how well people know Kelly Clarkson, a visit to the Rombach & Haas workshop in Schonach and, finally, the cuckoo clock’s first ‘Kel-ly’ call. The campaign is running on the Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH. Black Forest Collective is the production partner.

“Kelly Clarkson was looking for a singing bird. Naturally, the Black Forest felt responsible,’ stated Hansjörg Mair, managing director of Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH. “Our cuckoo has been making the same call for hundreds of years. But for Kelly, we’re making an exception.”

“A good social media idea connects a current moment with an original, surprising response. Our idea was to enter the story with a symbol that is instantly associated with the Black Forest. Timing was crucial. Only a few days passed from the initial idea to launch. We have now created a social-first PR stunt that continues the story in its own way,” added Karó Oganesian, director social, Saint Elmo’s Tourism.