Hails & Fails – August 25th 2023
If like us, you’re still recovering from the heartbreak of our Women’s World Cup defeat to Spain, then here are some winning PR campaigns to celebrate instead!
Lime Bikes made cycling fashionable, The New York Times made the subway even more of an experience and Brazen client Greene King gave England fans a reason to celebrate. Not a great week for X and Elon Musk though, after the site formerly known as Twitter made a shock announcement.
HAILS
Ride green
Lime Bikes, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, collaborated with fashion designer Lydia Bolton to create a fresh new look for cyclists everywhere.
The project was inspired by research that revealed 9 out of 10 adults have avoided cycling due to not being able to wear what they want, with half of them wishing there were more high-fashion cycle-friendly clothing options.
By up-cycling old tents and jackets, Lydia has created a fashionable multifunction range with a stylish lime green colour scheme to match the bikes themselves. Green isn’t normally our colour, but we’re still obsessed!
Times to catch the subway!
We’re all guilty of looking at a stranger’s phone on public transport to try and work out what game they’re playing.
Knowing this, The New York Times has transformed six subway carriages between Times Square and Grand Central station into immersive game experiences, from The Spelling Bee – where the carriage has been transformed into a puzzle – through to a carriage representing The Athletic – designed to look like the New York Giants’ locker room.
“By showing up within the subway, we hope to surprise subscribers, readers, home cooks, solvers and sports fanatics and give them a new way to use the Times for their commute and in their everyday lives,” said Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing Amy Weisenbach.
Generous King
Over 900 Greene King pubs gave away free drinks to anyone who turned up in an England kit, colours or face paint to last Sunday’s World Cup Final.
The Brazen client made the offer available from kick off at 11am to 2pm with pub-goers having the choice of a free ale, lager, craft beer, wine, spirit or mixer – just as long as they showed their full support for the Lionesses.
Of course, the 1-0 defeat against Spain wasn’t what fans had hoped for, but who doesn’t enjoy a free drink? Cheers to that.
FAILS
Blocked by Elon Musk
Elon Musk told us that the blocking feature is going to be deleted from his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, this week – instantly violating both the Apple and Google Play Store guidelines.
Whether or not Musk will be able to manipulate the likes of tech giants Apple or Google…only time will tell. But with researchers finding an increase in hate speech and antisemitic content on the platform since he took over, and with some governments accusing the company of not doing enough to moderate its content, social media’s overwhelming consensus is that this controversial move is a step too far.
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