Hails & Fails – December 1st 2023
We’re not ones to brag*, but we couldn’t send this week’s Hails & Fails without shouting about our incredible award wins at last night’s CIPR Pride Awards!
We’re proud as punch to say we picked up Best Consumer Agency, Best Long-Term Client Care for Wilko, Best Event for Greene King, Best Low Budget for Showcase, Best Not-For-Profit for JD Outdoor, Best Consumer Relations Campaign (silver) for Silentnight and our very own homegrown PR superstar Daisy Vickers was crowned Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year.
“Brazen’s energy shines through, both in words and design, showcasing their impressive success with some remarkable projects over the past year. Their unwavering commitment to their people is also truly commendable, and the great menu of people benefits they offer is outstanding. Keep up the fantastic work, Brazen!”
And not only did we clean up at last night’s do, but that marked a clean sweep for Best Agency at all five of the industry awards this year – PR Moment, PRCA, Prolific North, PR Week and CIPR Pride Awards.
I think it’s safe to say we’re going to need a bigger trophy cabinet and a longer email signature!
But seriously, we know how lucky we are to work with such brilliant people in both our team and clients. We couldn’t be more grateful.
Here’s to more award-winning work together in 2024!
*ok that’s not true since we exist to make brands famous
Right, where were we? Hails & Fails!
This week, Apple met their match, Aldi made us drool uncontrollably and family-run Charlie’s Bar went viral with a Christmas ad dubbed “better” than John Lewis’. While British brand Regatta gave one very unlucky customer a real fright to become our ‘fail’.
HAILS
Apple vs Boy
A ten-year-old has started a petition asking global giant Apple to change their ‘nerd emoji’.
Teddy from Oxfordshire thinks the icon, with its prominent front teeth and thick rimmed glasses, gives the wrong impression of people who wear them, saying, “I don’t like the name and I hate the buck teeth. It’s offensive and insulting to all those people in the world who wear glasses.”
The student has suggested a redesign and wants it renamed the “genius emoji”.
With that kind of bravery, a job at Brazen is Teddy’s!
The pop-up of December dreams!
Supermarket Aldi has opened a bottomless pigs in blankets restaurant. Need we write more?
Open for just two days in London’s Camden Passage, the pop-up costs just a fiver with a “Press for PIBs” button giving diners the whole menu all over again.
The menu? Traditional pigs in blankets, plant-based pigs in blankets, caramelised onion chipolatas wrapped in bacon, brie and cranberry candy cane pigs in blankets, giant Yorkshire pudding pig in blankets and festive pigs in blankets wood-fired sourdough pizza.
Let’s say blankets one more time… BLANKETS!
John Lewis, who?
A low budget Christmas ad made by a family-run bar in Northern Ireland has gone viral, with many claiming it’s better than John Lewis’ effort…
The £700 advert highlights how lonely people can feel over the festive period by showing an elderly man placing flowers on a grave, before being ignored by happy couples and groups of friends down a high-street. But he eventually enters Charlie’s Bar where he’s joined by a curious dog and a friendly couple who stay for a drink with him.
The tear-jerker has racked up millions of views on X (Twitter) and more than 60,000 likes on TikTok.
We’re not crying, you are.
FAILS
A Black Friday, indeed…
An ID card belonging to a Chinese prisoner was found inside the lining of a Regatta coat, raising concerns that it was manufactured using prison labour.
Discovered in a plastic holder embossed with the words, ‘Produced by the Ministry of Justice prisons bureau’, the dark discovery has left the customer, who made the purchase on Black Friday, feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.
“You don’t expect it from Regatta. It’s a UK brand that’s up there with Next, with M&S, that you put your children in… and this happens”.
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