Hails & Fails – November 12th 2021
We’ve all been feeling Christmassy as this year’s Christmas adverts took their TV bow this week and a veritable sackful of seasonal PR campaigns hit the mark too.
Travel giant Mars has won admirers everywhere with with its brilliant campaign for Celebrations chocolates, Nike turned dumped trainers into a new community basketball court and Aldi replaced Kevin the Carrot. It wasn’t such a great week for Meghan Markle though after she had to apologise to a court over a witness statement.
HAILS
Bounty return scheme launched for ‘most hated’ Celebration
Bounty is the choc from hell for many fans of Celebrations chocolates, but maker Mars has launched a genius campaign to encourage fans to swap them rather than chuck them away this Christmas.
A recent survey found 52% leave the bar until last and 32% admit binning it. But they can now be traded in for Maltesers Teasers at selected Co-op stores in major cities from January 17, and in a last-gasp bid to save the unloved bars, Mars has launched a brilliant Christmas TV ad telling a love story between a Bounty and an equally despised Brussels sprout.
Cue coverage galore!
Aldi replaces Kevin with eBanana Scrooge
Aldi has replaced its popular Kevin The Carrot character from its annual Christmas adverts with a grumpy Christmas banana.
Aldi’s 2021 Christmas advert introduced eBanana Scrooge this week and while Kevin is nowhere to be seen, the tiny yellow banana sleeping on a plate next to a mince pie stole the Christmas show.
Cues giggles and ‘awws’ all round when the little banana is ignored by Santa in favour of a mince pie and he yells: “Why didn’t he take me? I hate Christmas!”
The ad, which starred Marcus Radishford, also featured a cameo voice-over from the footballer, as well as a pledge by Aldi to donate 1.8 million meals to families in need this Christmas.
It’s been a massive hit with tonnes of media coverage and comments galore on social media.
Nike constructs basketball court from upcycled trainers
Nikes ‘Moves to Zero’ pact has seen the sports brand source 20,000 old, worn-out trainers and use them to build a fully functional basketball court and playground.
Nike wanted to re-use the unwanted shoes, collected from landfill, and reinvest them back into the community.
The ingenious campaign saw principal designer Nigel Cottier use bright vibrant colours and abstract shapes from the trainers to create an eye-catching yet still functional communal space in a neighbiourhood in Belgrade, Serbia.
The fantastically creative stunt won worldwide coverage this week.
FAILS
Meghan apologises to court over witness statement
Meghan Markle has apologised to a court after a witness statement said she and Prince Harry approved their aides speaking to biographers.
In 2020, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand released their book ’Finding Freedom’, which is a biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s time in the Royal Family. The Sussex royals previously insisted they did not have any involvement with the biography. However, in a witness statement from the Duchess, she stated she had not “remembered” emails between her and an aide about the book.
She has now said: “I apologise to the Court for the fact that I had not remembered these exchanges at the time.”
And the coverage, as you’d expect, has not been great for the former actress…
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