Hails & Fails – January 14th 2022
We might be approaching Blue Monday but brands gave us lots of reasons to be cheerful this week with some ingenious PR campaigns. Sports brand Adidas gave us a sustainable sea-based tennis court, Waitrose gave home cooks a ‘no tears’ guarantee and athletics brand New Balance presented us with the fun reality of modern exercise. It was a week energy firm SSE would rather forget though, after some ill-judged winter advice backfired
HAILS
Adidas launches a tennis court on the waves
Some of Australia’s most celebrated athletes have held their own Grand Slam tennis tournament on a floating court in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef.
Olympians Ian Thorpe and Jess Fox faced off against NRL Star Nathan Cleary and fitness influencer Steph Claire Smith on Tuesday to launch Adidas’ colourful new reef-inspired sustainable collection.
The collection, which launches on January 17th, is modelled around sustainability with each piece of clothing made from a combination of recycled plastic and recycled thread.
The athletes were dressed from head to toe in the Adidas clothing – with the stylish joggers even featuring the Parley thread made from bottles washed up on the world’s beaches.
No tears with new Waitrose ‘Sunions’
Waitrose is launching ‘Sunions’ in its stores – a brown, tearless and sweet onion – guaranteed to be a “gamechanger” for teary-eyed chefs. The onions, which are being marketed using the strapline “not a single tear”, have taken more than 30 years to create.
The irritation caused when chopping into an onion means that every day, Britons go to great lengths to take away the sob factor at meal times.
No longer, says Waitrose…though the cost – three times that of a regular onion – might still make your eyes water.
Still, tonnes of coverage welcomed the news.
New Balance presents modern running
New Balance this week showed us what it means to be a modern runner in a new campaign.
Launched with fitness app Strava, the campaign champions less conventional forms of exercise – from chasing after your dog to running for the bus.
New Balance takes a different approach with its new campaign, Every Runner Has A Reason, which aims to dispel existing myths around what it means to be a runner.
The brand wants to engage those who may not yet realise they’re a runner with the campaign video and accompanying posters, which depict unusual forms of exercise ranging from someone running after their takeaway delivery to chasing after their dog in the park.
It’s won lots of media love this week too.
FAILS
Energy company in hot water over winter ‘warmer’ advice
Energy company SSE has had to apologise after it advised customers to star jump, cuddle pets and eat porridge to stay warm this winter in a blog post.
The blog was sent by SSE to its customers “containing energy-saving tips”. The firm has since removed the post and apologised.
The blog gave 10 tips on “keeping warm in the winter without turning up the heating”, while there are increasing concerns across the nation about the cost of living amid rising energy bills.
According to experts, rising wholesale fuel costs will result in a 50 percent rise in bills from April, when the latest change to the energy price cap takes effect.
Negative media coverage galore this week for this ill-timed piece.
Want more information? Contact us here