Hails & Fails – July 5th 2024
Videos of England fans celebrating Jude Bellingham’s late equaliser against Slovakia have been all over our socials this week with the sheer emotion making us a bit teary-eyed here in the office. But as England prepare to go head to head against Switzerland in the quarter-final tomorrow, we think these three brands have already won.
Heineken scored with some innovation, Marks & Spencer had a genius partnership idea and plant-based brand Field Roast officially declared the start of our Brat summer. While Team GB Rugby took being bra-zen way too far in their latest campaign.
HAILS
Don’t cry over spilt beer
5 million pints are spilled every time England score! So Heineken created beer mats that give football fans a free post-celebration refill!
But they didn’t stop there. The brand has collaborated with Amsterdam-based raincoat brand Rainkiss to create a Pint-cho: a poncho to protect football fans against beer-fall during matches.
Lucy Jones – Junior Copywriter: “The Netherlands might have made it to the quarter finals, but their national beer has already won the Euros! One word: GENIUS.”
Introducing, Mark & Spencer
Having “How has this not been done already!?” type of ideas is the goal of every creative. And M&S has done just that with their latest partnership with reality TV stars Mark Wright and Spencer Matthews. Introducing, the Marks & Spencer we never knew we needed!
Revealing the partnership with the TOWIE and Made in Chelsea stars in an Instagram post, the brand has sent the internet into a frenzy and for good reason. The idea is so simple, but so on the money for M&S menswear right now.
“This isn’t any Era, it’s an M&S era” said one Instagram user. “Whoever thought of this campaign needs a raise” said another.
We couldn’t agree more.
Rebecca Cohen – Head of Social, Influencer & Content: “It’s the simplicity for me. For a brand that’s 140 years old, it blows my mind this hasn’t already been done, and THAT is why it’s my hail this week. Plus, by working with household names who are family men themselves, they’ve absolutely nailed their audience targeting.”
Time for a Brat-aqeue
With its brazen lyrics and funky beats, Pop star Charli XCX’s new album ‘Brat’ has been declared the soundtrack of the summer. But plant-based meat brand Field Roast stole the show when they spotted an opportunity to promote their Bratwurst sausages.
Tagging the pop star herself, the brand launched a ‘Brat Wurst’ Instagram post inspired by the distinctive lime green album cover, plus erected billboards of the same clever design – earning a place at the top of our brat summer BBQ list!
Jess Redfearn – Midweight Creative: “A brand that successfully jumps on a big cultural moment like this deserves a shout out. Love it!”
FAIL
Team GB’s latest campaign #StrongIsBeautiful received major backlash online for being misogynistic – reducing female athletes to sexual objects.
The campaign, a partnership with lingerie label Bluebella which aimed to empower young girls to get into rugby, sees three star players Jasmine Joyce, Celia Quansah and Ellie Boatman, posing on a rugby pitch wearing racy lingerie.
We thought it was 2024….
Mariella Cunningham – Senior Influencer Account Executive: “I feel the brand really missed the mark here and don’t think the lingerie was necessary to encourage young girls to play more sport – perhaps a motivational message or charity partnership with an organisation supporting young women with less privilege would have been better!?”
Want more information? Contact us here