Hails & Fails – January 10th 2025
If you’re reading this it means you survived the first full week back in January – and that was no mean feat…
Time to enjoy a much-deserved Friday and enjoy the first Hails & Fails of 2025!
Aldi came to the rescue in the heavy snowfall, American chain Dunkin’ Donut partnered with the woman of the moment to cause a stir and Bumble partnered with a different Heroine of the Now to kick off 2025 with a bang. It wasn’t a great start to the New Year for legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young though, after he found himself as the butt of a joke following a Glastonbury U-turn.
HAILS
A Supermarket In Shining Armour
When a large group of guests became trapped at Britain’s highest pub, The Tan Hill Inn, following last week’s heavy snowfall, they told reporters that the biggest concern was a lack of sausages for breakfast and no Merlot wine for the cold evenings…
Jumping on the story, supermarket Aldi hired a local contractor with a tractor to send supplies!
The 23 guests and six staff members had spent a fourth day in the Inn unable to leave before the supermarket came to the rescue with the essentials.
Amazing as always from Aldi.
Charlotte Hancock – Account Executive: “Small acts from brands always go a long way, as shown by Aldi, who have taken on Tesco’s famous brand motto “Every Little Helps” to build brand trust and awareness.”
The Sabrina Effect
Dunkin’ Donuts teamed up with pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter, singer of the Grammy-nominated hit single ‘Expresso’, to launch their limited-time shaken iced coffee beverage – ‘Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso’.
The campaign features a hilarious 30-second video featuring several people “shaking their Ess” with Sabrina.
Obsessed!
Matthew Rainford – Senior Content Producer: “🎶 Now we’re thinking ‘bout this, everyday oh, is this a hail? I guess so 🎶 … I’ll show myself out.”
Chicken Shop (Online) Date
Staying with the theme of perfect partnerships, dating app Bumble revealed its first-ever cover star… the one and only Chicken Shop Date producer and host Amelia Dimoldenberg.
Known for her authenticity, humour and hugely successful dating show in which she “dates” celebrities in chicken shops across the UK, Amelia has shared her golden rules for dating on Bumble’s socials to kick off the partnership. Rule #1: “Know you’re hot”. “Being hot is a state of mind. Being hot is to do with your personality, how kind you are, how funny you are, your intelligence. Think about hotness as more than just a physical thing”, says the bumble partner in an exclusive interview.
Jess Redfearn – Midweight Creative: “I might have to redownload Bumble now… because Amelia is the best representation of the brand’s promise: putting women first! Fun, real, confident. I’m so excited to see what’s next for this campaign.”
FAIL
Musician mocked
Musician Neil Young made headlines this week for a rather amusing U-turn on his decision to perform at Glastonbury Festival.
The singer-songwriter shared a statement with fans saying he had decided to no longer perform. “It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
But just a few days later the star announced he had changed his mind and will be playing at the site as initially planned.
To make matters worse, BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James then got involved by recreating Young’s statement in a mock Instagram post ahead of his return to his breakfast show! “Radio 1 is a corporate turn – off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you on one of my many podcasts instead” mocked the presenter.
Oh 2025, we like you already!
Chris Bradley – News Editor: “It’s embarrassing this music legend has tainted his appearance at this much-loved festival, and the “gentle trolling” from recently axed BBC Radio One DJ Greg James makes this even more of a fail for the talent, the BBC and Glastonbury.”
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