Hails & Fails – April 9th 2021
HAILS
‘Asda’ to be easy to put on for children with specific needs
Asda won plaudits across national media for its new Easy On Easy Wear school clothing; a collection of clothes designed specifically for kids with specific or sensory-sensitive needs, such as autism. The collection, a UK first, saw Asda work with charities to create the garments after discovering that it takes parents of children with specific needs twice as long to get ready for school. A great example of inclusivity and a genuinely helpful piece of NPD for many families nationwide.
Cuppa quandaries solved as perfect cup of tea is revealed
Hot water tap brand INTU brewed up some controversy after revealing that milk should be added first for the perfect cup of rosy lee. The brand worked with experts at Leeds University’s School of Food Science & Nutrition to generate the best brew formula and found that pouring the milk in first allows its proteins to lower the mineral content of the water and lock in the flavour. An age-old debate wasn’t settled by the story (and FYI the milk definitely goes in last at The Brazen Ideas Factory) but it certainly stirred a whole of load of social media chatter and media coverage. The perfect PR storm in a teacup.
LinkedIn *finally* gives parenting the thumbs up
Social media users can now add ‘stay at home parent’ to their career history on LinkedIn. The professional networking site added the new setting to reflect calls from mums and dads wishing to accurately show that family life can make gaps in employment history inevitable – or even desirable. LinkedIn won national coverage praising the more inclusive update to its settings, which seems especially timely given how far we’ve come in breaking down the stigma surrounding working parents as a result of lockdown, working from home and juggling home-schooling. There’s a far greater transparency between employers and employees and a better understanding of working parents and this move, by LinkedIn, will only help to continue those positive conversations.
FAILS
April Fail’s Day for Deliveroo France
It was a resounding ‘non, merci’ from Deliveroo’s French users after the takeaway firm sent out a fake bill for €450 to each of its customers nationwide. The April Fool’s prank spectacularly backfired and social media was ablaze with complaints from irritated customers, many of whom thought that their account had been hacked. A great example of a PR stunt that’s more ‘ooh na na’ than ‘ooh la la’.
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