Make the reveal the story

Good product launch entertainment doesn't sit next to the launch. It is the launch. The product appears from nowhere, the old version vanishes, the brand ends up in the clip everyone shares. Jay & Joss are illusionists who build illusions for other people's shows as well, and they've already pulled off the sort of stunts that get a news crew to turn up. Here are three of them, and how a project like yours would work.

Case one: the train that vanished

In February 2025 they staged a PR stunt for Wicksteed Park to mark four performances of their Imagination show at the park on 17 and 18 February. The answer was to make Merlin, the park's own train, disappear.

Park staff and visitors stood and watched it go, and the whole thing was filmed as a single take. No cuts, no edit points for anyone to pick apart. ITV News ran it.

That last detail is the whole point. A trick that only works with clever editing is a nice video. One that plays out in one continuous shot, with real people standing round watching, is a news story. If you're planning a reveal that you want press to cover, that's the standard to aim for.

Case two: sawing presenters in half, live on air

Radio is a strange place for an illusion, because the listener can't see a thing. Twice now they've done it anyway.

In February 2023, on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, they helped a presenter perform the classic sawing a woman in half, live. The studio filmed it and streamed it online, so the audio went out on air and the video did the rounds afterwards.

Then in February 2025 they did it again on BBC Radio, this time sawing presenter Bernie Keith in half during his show. Same idea, same result: a radio slot that turned into something people wanted to watch.

The lesson for a brand is simple. Put the illusion where the audience already is, then make sure there's a camera on it.

Case three: designing the illusion itself

Plenty of performers can do a trick you've seen before. Fewer can build one from scratch. Jay & Joss work as illusion consultants, and that side of the business is what makes bespoke product launch entertainment possible.

In 2025 they were the illusion designers for The Void, a new theatre tour from Thunder Road, and one of the effects they created had a performer appearing to float in space. Also in 2025, Stephen Mulhern's Butlin's show got an illusion from them in which Stephen himself, sat on a motorbike, vanished from the stage and reappeared at the opposite end of the venue.

Neither of those was product launch entertainment. But both are the same skill a launch needs: start from what the audience should see, then work backwards to the method.

A vanish in the street

What makes product launch entertainment work

Having watched what lands and what doesn't, a few rules come up again and again:

• The product is the hero. If people remember the magician and not the thing being launched, the stunt has failed, however good it looked.
• One clean moment. A single reveal or vanish beats a twenty-minute set when the aim is a clip people share.
• Real witnesses. Staff, customers, journalists or passers-by watching it happen make it believable on video.
• Plan the camera before the trick. Where it's filmed from, in one take or not, and who gets the footage.
• Keep a story to it. Why does this product appear, or why does that old one vanish? The illusion should say something about the news.

Ideas worth talking through

Every launch is different, so treat these as starting points rather than a menu. A new product appearing in an empty case on stage. The old model vanishing as the new one is unveiled. A vehicle, a sign or a piece of kit disappearing in front of the people who built it. A presenter or spokesperson involved in the illusion, the way the radio hosts were.

Whether any of these is right for you, and how it would be done, is something we'd work out together after hearing about the product, the venue and the audience. We'd rather tell you honestly what's realistic than promise a stunt that won't survive contact with the room.

And not all product launch entertainment needs a bespoke build. Sometimes the right call is their stage show at the launch party, with a branded moment worked into it.

Why the press already know the names

A stunt gets coverage more easily when the people doing it are already a story. In 2024 the Britain's Got Talent judges gave them four yeses. They've also appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and have been on Lorraine and ITV News.

Look at how journalists write them up and you'll see it. When the Hampshire Chronicle reviewed their 2026 tour, the first words of the headline were “Britain's Got Talent magicians”. That hook is something a press release can lean on.

The media page has video and a press kit, which is the first thing to send a journalist who asks who they are.

How a launch project runs, start to finish

There's no fixed package, but the shape of a job tends to look like this:

• You send the brief. What's launching, the date, the place and who you want talking about it. Half a page is plenty.
• An honest first conversation. The team comes back on what's realistic for the space, the timeline and the product, and what isn't.
• The moment gets designed. Reveal, vanish or a branded section of the stage show, worked out around the product rather than bolted on.
• Filming gets planned. Camera positions, whether it's one take, and who needs the footage afterwards for social, press or the sales team.
• On the day. Jay & Joss perform it, with your people and your guests watching, and you get the clip.

Most product launch entertainment goes wrong at step two, when nobody says out loud that an idea won't work in the room. We'd much rather have that chat early.

Where the launch happens

The Merlin vanish happened at the park itself, not in a theatre. The radio stunts happened in studios. So a launch doesn't have to mean a ballroom and a stage.

If it is an indoor event with a seated audience, their stage show can be part of it too: fire, lasers, blades and spikes, with a slot where everyone watches together. Because of that kit, tell us early about the room: say if there's a stage, how big the floor is and the headcount.

Questions from PR and marketing teams

Can you make our product appear or disappear?

It's a conversation worth having. Because they build illusions for other shows too, a reveal or vanish centred on your product is very much their territory. Whether it's possible depends on the size of the product, the location and how it'll be filmed.

Will it look as good on video as it does in the room?

That's worth planning from the start. The Merlin train vanish was filmed as one take in front of a live audience, and the radio stunts were filmed and streamed online. Tell us how you want the footage used and the team will factor it in.

How much notice does a bespoke stunt need?

It depends entirely on the idea. A branded moment within the stage show is a different job from a brand new illusion built around a product. Get in touch as soon as you have a launch date, even a rough one, and the team will tell you what's realistic.

Can it happen somewhere public rather than at an event?

Possibly. The Wicksteed Park stunt took place at the park in front of staff and visitors rather than in a theatre. Public locations bring their own permissions and practicalities, so send us the place, the date and who you expect to be watching.

Is this good for a small brand or only big launches?

Product launch entertainment doesn't need a huge budget to start a conversation. The question is whether there's a clear moment worth filming. Tell us what you're launching and what you want people to talk about afterwards, and we'll say honestly whether an illusion is the right fit.

If you're planning product launch entertainment or a PR stunt, [check a date](#enquiry) with the enquiry form. Tell us what's launching, when and where, who'll be watching, and whether you need it filmed. A rough idea is enough to start. Prefer to talk first? Use the contact page and someone will get back to you.