Hails & Fails – March 25th 2022
In a week dominated by news that the cost of living has soared to its highest point in decades, a handful of exceptional PR campaigns still managed to cut through the noise. Selfridges introduce Quiet Hour, IKEA has renamed products to offer relationship advice, and Cadbury has created edible social media posts. It was a pretty poor week for former TOWIE star Lauren Goodger and a handful of other prominent influencers though, as they unknowingly promoted a fake drink made with cyanide.
HAILS
Selfridges introduces quiet hour to support Neurodiversity Week
Selfridges has launched a new quiet shopping hour across the business to create a more inclusive shopping experience for all its shoppers.
The luxury department store retailer said: “We understand that shopping experiences for people with autism spectrum conditions, sensory sensitivities, and mental health conditions like anxiety, can be stressful.”
Announced during Neurodiversity Week, Selfridges is introducing Quiet Hour to all its stores and office locations which will take place every Wednesday from 10am -11am.
IKEA renames products to help solve relationship problems
IKEA has launched a campaign renaming the store’s products after the most common Google searches about relationship problems.
IKEA’s Retail Therapy is designed to prove to consumers that the company’s products have always been ‘inspired by how people live in the real world.’
The store’s website has replaced its notorious unusually-named products into names of common dilemmas such as ‘My Partner Snores’ and ‘She doesn’t want to cuddle.’
Brilliant – and tonnes of coverage to boot.
Cadbury opens chocolate shop where shoppers can eat mean social media posts
Cadbury has opened the world’s first ‘Mean Tweetshop‘ in London’s Soho – and chocolate fans can visit the pop-up to eat mean social posts.
The brilliant one-of-a-kind pop-up is ‘striving to turn plant-based hate from social media into plant-based love’.
The chocolate shop will be stocked entirely with Cadbury Plant Bars wrapped in limited edition packaging of negative tweets about their vegan chocolate. So, the Twitter sceptics will quite literally be able to eat their words.
Tonnes of sweet coverage for the story this week too.
FAILS
Influencers unwittingly promoted a cyanide drink on Instagram
Three well-known reality-stars-turned-Instagram celebrities unwittingly promoted a drink made of cyanide this week.
They took part in a segment on BBC series Blindboy Undestroys the World, and were each asked to promote a diet drink called Cyanora. The drink does not exist, mainly because it contains the extremely poisonous gas hydrogen cyanide.
Former The Only Way Is Essex cast members Lauren Goodger and Mike Hassini and former Love Island participant Zara Holland were all given some information about the product during separate interviews, and they were told that they would not be able to test the product until it was ready to launch in a few more months.
Regardless, they filmed brief promos for Cyanora, mentioning hydrogen cyanide by name – revealing a willingness to promote almost anything. Ouch!
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