Hails & Fails – August 23rd 2024
The last bank holiday of the year is here. And while the weather forecast is looking average at best, these three campaigns are all examples of PR brilliance. Enjoy!
Beer brand Beavertown brought us together with some NPD, Malibu educated us with a peachy partnership and tech brand WeTransfer pranked us all on socials. While Steven Bartlett had a mare with his meal replacement brand Huel and nutrition company Zoe both having TV adverts banned…
HAILS
Beavertown
While 54% of Brits want to meet new people, 35% don’t know how to start a conversation with strangers. So, beer brand Beavertown decided to place bright blue bar stools with “Is this seat taken?” written on them in pubs across the country, to encourage pub-goers to pluck up the courage to mingle this bank holiday weekend.
Challenge accepted?
Lucy Jones – Junior Copywriter: “A great example of understanding your audience, meeting your customers where they are and adding value. Love it!”
Don’t Drink and Dive
One in four UK drownings involve alcohol.
So rum brand Malibu recruited Olympic champion diver Tom Daley to educate the nation.
In partnership with The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), the campaign sees Daley sporting some very tight speedos that read ‘Don’t Drink and Dive’ as he goes to dive into the water, before the powerful drowning statistic appears written in the pool’s tiles.
Jess Redfearn – Midweight Creative: “This is so well executed, and the simplicity ensures the message is heard loud and clear. Well done to all involved.”
WeGotcha
Tech brand WeTransfer played a PR prank on us here in agency land by disguising a tech update as an emotional “we’re closing down” post to win social fame this week.
The length of time you can download a WeTransfer file doesn’t sound very PRable, but the brand’s marketing team clearly understood the insight around it – the awkward moments you’re forced to email a colleague for yet another link because the file has expired… again.
This insight made it possible for them to pull at our heartstrings with some clever copywriting.
A fab bit of marketing and great for us here at Brazen!
Fern Wilson – PR Account Executive: “The social media post really draws in your attention by implying the site is closing down, but swiftly turns any negative feelings around and announces new 30-day live links are available. It really pulls on your work heartstrings and showcases the reliability of the site. Well done WeTransfer, you got us all!”
FAIL
Huel take responsibility for this?
Adverts for health brand Zoe and meal replacement drink Huel were banned this week for failing to disclose their financial relationship with the millionaire entrepreneur Steven Bartlett.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found the adverts were “likely to mislead consumers” by not making it clear that the Diary of a CEO author and podcast host who starred in them was an investor for both brands.
Normally the one asking the questions, Bartlett has been under fire with this one: is there a need for consumers to know the details of the brand’s relationship with an investor?
Isobel Wragg – Account Executive: “This is incredibly disappointing. Not only does he have millions of followers who treat his words as gospel, but he also has the nerve to promote misleading content to an audience that trusts him. Big fail.”
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