Hails & Fails – April 8th 2022
The unwelcome rain might have put a dampener on the start of Spring but that’s not stopped brands making waves with some stunning PR campaigns this week. Supermarket Morrisons has launched a Corgi Cake, Lego has given us a cute take on a fairytale house and Channel 4 has brought back the iconic Smash Hits. It was not a good week for Manchester Airport though, after bosses were awarded pay rises as disruption caused travel chaos at check-in desks.
HAILS
Morrisons launches a cake fit for a Queen
Morrisons has announced it will be selling a corgi cake, inspired by the Queen’s beloved pet pooches.
Honouring the Queen’s love for her dogs, Morrisons is launching ‘Clarence’ the Corgi Cake just in time for the Jubilee weekend.
The cake is a chocolate-covered swiss roll and decorated with red, blue and white sprinkles to celebrate the Queen’s 70th anniversary on the throne. Clarence has an edible face and boots, and is topped with a Union Jack crown.
And it’s already winning coverage everywhere!
Lego launches Encanto house
Lego has won headlines everywhere this week after releasing a cute version of the house from Oscar-winning Disney film Encanto.
The 587-piece set of the Madrigal family’s home is full of details from the movie. The three-story build has five rooms and is teamed with three characters from the film – Mirabel, Antonio and Abuela.
You can turn a handle to flip the bed and wake up Mirabel, or spin the chimney to change the weather, and twist a handle to wave the casa’s shutters.
Channel 4 brings back Smash Hits
Channel 4’s in-house marketing team has partnered with Smash Hits to promote the new season of TV hit, Derry Girls.
Tapping into nostalgia using a mag revered by teens everywhere back in the 1980s and 90s, 4Creative and Channel 4 Marketing worked with Bauer Media to produce the one-off magazine, which includes a double-page poster of the cast.
The campaign nods to the Derry Girls’ ‘last-day-of-school’ chaos, making the end of an era for the girls and the last season of the show.
The media have lapped up the whole nostalgia of the re-release too.
FAILS
Outrage over pay rises for Manchester Airports Group bosses
Unions have condemned the owner of Manchester Airport for inflating bosses’ pay by almost a quarter in the first year of the pandemic even as the wages for staff were cut and hundreds of workers were let go.
The pay rise came as the start of the Easter break was underway and was marred by waits of up to eight hours at the airport as airlines struggled to cope with staff shortages caused by Covid infections and layoffs.
The disruption has shown no sign of abating this week either, with airlines continuing to announce further flight cancellations because of staff absences.
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