Hails & Fails – May 7th 2021
What a great week it has been in PR-land. Cadbury went all nostalgic, Disney celebrated Pride and IKEA became ‘climate positive’. It really wasn’t a good week for Noto, the Japanese seaside resort though, as they felt the wrath of public scrutiny over a questionable statue.
HAILS
Cadbury re-releases historic chocolate bar to media fanfare
Cadbury won headlines everywhere this week by re-launching a nostalgic chocolate bar in the UK. The Dairy Milk Neapolitan has been a hit for years in Australia but has never been available in the UK before. So, cue a media coverage frenzy when news broke that the legendary chocolate bar was available for UK sale for the first time this week. On top of the media fanfare the release also won tonnes of social media love.
Disney Releases Newly Inclusive Pride 2021 Collection
Disney just made its Magical Kingdom a little more colourful with the release of a whole new line of LGBTQ+ Pride-themed merchandise.
From badges and t-shirts to Mickey Mouse ears in rainbow colours, Disney’s new push on inclusivity really hit home with media. The rainbow-colored official Disney products, which include the Pride flag, comes just in time for Pride Month, and part of the profits will go to support LGBTQ+ organisations. Quite rightly, it’s won tonnes of positive coverage and love online.
IKEA launches buy-back scheme to become ‘climate positive’
IKEA customers in the UK can now sell their furniture back to the homeware store for up to £250 as the retailer launches its Buy Back service.
The scheme was originally set to be launched last year as part of Ikea’s promise to become a “fully circular and climate positive business by 2030”. But, the first launch date was postponed due to lockdown in the UK in November last year.
Customers will now be able to sell back furniture items in exchange for a voucher, with their old furniture being resold in Ikea’s Bargain Corner, to give them a second life. As you’d expect, the story won headlines everywhere.
FAILS
PR…and how Noto do it…
The seaside town of Noto in Japan has ruffled feathers after using cash from an emergency Covid-19 relief grant to build a giant statue of a squid.
The 43ft sea creature celebrates the iconic flying squid, the town’s delicacy.
But it reportedly used £164,700 of emergency funding to build the statue as part of its plan to lure tourists back after the pandemic.
Japan is battling another surge in coronavirus cases, and Tokyo is currently under a state of emergency – the third for the country since the pandemic began.
As you’d expect, the mis-appropriation of the emergency funding has caused a heck of a negative stir, with locals and media saying it should have been used for urgent Covid support instead. It’s all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?
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