Hails & Fails – Oct 9th 2020
While the temperatures have plummeted a degree or three this week, the nation’s PR-meisters are still cooking on gas. It’s been a great week for hot PR successes…with Superdrug, Missguided and Nando’s all hitting the sweet spot, while PureGym’s PR team will be sweating for all the wrong reasons.
HAILS
Superdrug’s Safe Spaces Becomes a Cause Célèbre
The brand’s brilliant CSR initiative saw its pharmacies become a safe space for victims of domestic abuse, helping a significant number of at-risk women right across the country. Quite rightly, this campaign won widespread acclaim and was hugely timely with the reported upwards spike in violent instances since lockdown started.
Missguided’s Mean Girls Collection is On Point and On Time
The fashion brand received widespread coverage with its new edit launched to celebrate Mean Girls Day last weekend. The new collection, aptly titled ‘On Wednesdays We Wear’, sees a new range of clothes celebrating the iconic film which came out in 2004 – yes, 2004! Feeling old yet? It dropped just as everyone was sharing famous memes of famous scenes from the cult movie too!
Nando’s Happy Hump Day Offers Free Chicken Heaven
The chicken restaurant chain got everyone smiling by introducing free meals every Wednesday in October with their new campaign ‘Hump Day Heaven’. Sign us up, already! Nando’s will be footing the bill for customers on Wednesdays across the month. Unsurprisingly, for this cult brand, the campaign won tonnes of coverage everywhere! Free chicken? What’s not to love?
FAILS
PureGym’s Black History Month Celebration Damages their Rep
PureGym has been sweating for all the wrong reasons, this week, after a post on one of its local Facebook pages, advertising a workout titled “12 Years Of Slave” designed to ‘celebrate’ Black History Month was rightly called out. The post was shared on PureGym’s Luton & Dunstable Facebook page on Monday morning with the phrase: “Slavery was hard and so is this.” Cue apoplectic social media users launching a tirade of offended criticism and an apology from the brand, who promised a full investigation. It’s going to be a long road to recovery after that blunder, with tangible actions needed such as diversity and inclusion training for its staff.
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