Hails & Fails – January 24th 2025
TikTok resumed operations this week following a short-lived ban that saw many dramatic goodbye videos from the USA flood our For You Pages. The popular app was saved after an intervention by President Donald Trump – who attempted to ban the platform in 2020, calling it a threat to national security. Now TikTok has 14.9 million followers, he’s changed his tune.
While TikTok’s future was uncertain for hot minute, Brazen’s remains bright with two fame-winning campaigns kicking off 2025.
Longstanding client Showcase Cinemas celebrated National Popcorn Day and our new client Nanna Tate have revealed millions are missing out on the health benefits of the humble spud.
We had to give Ikea a shoutout too, after the iconic brand made us teary-eyed by taking us back to 2013.
But it was a messy week for Meta – who had serious questions to answer.
HAILS
Popcoin!
Our movie-loving team helped Showcase give film fans a special offer of £1 popcorn to celebrate National Popcorn Day – and we made sure to put a smile on everyone’s face on Blue Monday.
We crafted a news story revealing that more than 2.7million kilograms of popcorn were enjoyed by film fans while watching a movie at its cinemas nationwide last year.
Our research also revealed that Peterborough is the popcorn capital of the UK with one in four (24%) cinemagoers in the town buying popcorn when they visit the big screen.
The news story won 155 hits in national and regional media, confirming Showcase Cinemas as the home of freshly popped popcorn. The only question left to ask: do you prefer sweet or salty?
Daisy Brooks – Senior Account Director: “As the home of freshly popped popcorn, it was a no brainer to celebrate National Popcorn Day at Showcase Cinemas by offering a discounted price on the iconic snack. Using readily available data allowed the brand to announce which area in the UK ate the most popcorn, giving an extra sweet treat to the offer and stealing share of voice from the competitors. Cut to mouth-watering coverage!”
Introducing this year’s superfood…. potatoes!
New potato brand Nanna Tate, one of Brazen newest clients, discovered millions are missing out on the health benefits of the humble spud.
Joining forces with fitness instructor, influencer and author Alice Living, Nanna Tate are on a mission to teach Brits about this year’s superfood and hosted a potato-powered fitness class to launch the brand to the world!
The class, hosted by Alice in London, and research-led news story caught the eye of more than 150 journalists and coverage was achieved across the country, and in the Metro, Daily Express and Mirror – to name a few!
Laura Berry – Senior Account Director: “As a gym girlie, I know how much of a bad rap potatoes have for being an unhealthy food, so it’s great to see a brand challenging this and hailing all the benefits of potatoes, showing they can be healthy AND tasty. A potato powered workout is genius. Well done, Nanna Tate, well done!”
Swedish Shake
To launch their new loyalty program, IKEA got employees doing the Harlem Shake… 12 years after the trend had the world in a groove.
Tapping into the power of nostalgia, the new promo campaign features employees dancing to the iconic viral video, with a caption stating: “It’s never too late. Finally, you can earn points on your purchase”.
Cue round two of the trend!
Jess Redfearn – Midweight Creative: “This is an unexpected revival of one of the hottest trends of the last decade. Ikea have made this look easy, but bringing back old trends is a spectacular feat of fresh ingenuity.”
FAIL
Mega Meta fail
Meta, the company that owns social media networks Facebook and Instagram, was forced to deny forcing app users to follow accounts belonging to members of Trump’s new administration.
Concerns that app users were suddenly “automatically” following the new president, as well as Vice-President JD Vance and First Lady Melania Trump, drew speculation across social media.
Adam Moss, News & Creative Director, said: “Quite rightly, there were immediate concerns of Big Brother type interference with this one. With Meta’s reputation already at an all-time low, prodding the monster that is social media conspiracy theory with another potential dilution of privacy, is a very risky business for a brand under fire.”
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