Not a balls-up after all

From locals worried about people getting hurt to the Civil Aviation Authority getting involved, in true Kyle & Jackie O style, the lead-up to KIIS FM’s $100k Ball Drop contest in Melbourne wasn’t without its dramas.

200 balls – labelled with prizes valued at up to $100,000 – were dropped from a helicopter over Elsternwick Park Tennis Centre this morning. 100 people then ran onto the court to grab two balls each.

Some feared the stunt could backfire, with claims it had only been granted approval at the eleventh hour.

As the Herald Sun (subscription required) reported, 15 hours before it was due to get underway – and satisfied safety requirements could be met – the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the contest had been given the green light.

Kyle Sandilands took issue with any suggestion the contest was unsafe.

“We’re throwing foam balls out of a helicopter, not grenades,” he said on air.

Apart from a small technical glitch as Sandilands crossed to Cooper Johns in the helicopter, it appears everything went off without a hitch.

The same can’t be said for the infamous ‘Turkeys Away’ promotion, which immediately came to mind. It’s a famous episode of the old TV series WKRP in Cincinnati which the which the station manager attempts to pull off the greatest Thanksgiving promotion in radio history: dropping live turkeys from a helicopter.

Disaster follows.

(Spoiler alert: The episode ends with the station manager telling staff: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”)