Hails & Fails – January 5th 2024
Happy new year! We hope this first week back at work hasn’t been too traumatic (the Microsoft Teams ringtone has given us a few jumpscares…)
To kick off the new year, here are some brilliant PR campaigns that made waves at the very end of 2023 and the first week of 2024! Drum roll…
Burger King created the ultimate hangover cure, Coca Cola hosted a birthday party and film Saltburn continues to steal the headlines. Not a great start to the year for fitness brand Lululemon though after plunging into 2024 mired in controversy.
HAILS
Hanging out discounts
Just before Christmas, Burger King launched a facial recognition system that awarded special discounts based on how hungover customers looked.
Customers simply took a (not so flattering) selfie, and the facial recognition system assessed their hangover level. The more hungover, the more discount.
Boy, would our Whoppers have been free after Brazen’s Christmas Party…
Merry Birthday!
December birthdays are easily forgotten about and over 34% of people with December birthdays are forced to cancel their parties because of festive drop outs.
So, Coca Cola threw a surprise birthday party to rival Christmas Day.
Fifteen cameras, a worldwide live stream and the guise of a Christmas documentary, the global brand surprised Olivia Houssiaux, their chosen birthday girl, with a birthday she’ll never forget surrounded by friends, family and loved ones.
A brilliant insight, a brilliant idea.
Saltburn success
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 pop hit Murder On The Dancefloor is set to re-enter the top 40 UK singles chart following its appearance in the box office hit Saltburn.
The much loved noughties tune features in the film’s final scene as actor Barry Keoghan dances around the Saltburn manor… stark naked.
Since the film’s release, the song has gone viral on TikTok and gained millions of new Gen Z fans, with Ellis-Bextor even posting a recreation of the scene on the app (less nudity, though).
We think brands everywhere can be inspired by the film’s brazenness.
FAILS
You lemon…
Lululemon’s founder has started the new year with controversy by saying inclusivity is killing the brand.
Chip Wilson, who stepped down from the fitness retailer 10 years ago, recently spoke to Forbes saying, “They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody. And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody… You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in”.
Having already faced backlash for anti-Asian, sexist, and fatphobic comments, Wilson’s comments unfortunately come as no surprise.
An awful start to 2024.
Want more information? Contact us here