Hails & Fails – September 29th 2023
The future of HS2, the high-speed rail way that was supposed to be the backbone of Britain’s transport network, was up in the air all of this week with the prime minister being urged not to cut the project. Luckily this week’s best PR campaigns are more clear about their goals…
Shrek is having another PR moment, Sex Education showed us how PR stunts are done and Tinder is helping singletons move on. On the flip side, Pret A Manger is in a bit of a pickle.
HAILS
A fairytale stay
A Shrek swamp themed Airbnb is opening within the forests of the Scottish Highlands this Halloween!
Holiday-makers looking to get away from people can book a stay in the far, far away location.
And as “a nod to the priceless refuge Shrek’s swamp has provided fairytale creatures of all kinds”, Airbnb isn’t charging guests a penny. Only one booking is available though: a two-night stay from the 27th to the 29th of October for up to three lucky people.
And in the morning, they’re making waffles!
Stunt Education
To promote the highly anticipated release of Sex Education’s Season 4 debut on Netflix, a yellow car adorned with show branding has been spotted rocking back and forth rather energetically…
A TikTok of the car went viral in a matter of days after the show aired, with members of the public peering inside to see if they could catch any culprits.
And the fun didn’t stop there. An enormous CGI condom was also spotted protecting the Obelisk of Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Now that’s brazen!
Inking up with Tinder
A whopping 79% of young singles’ tattoos have a special meaning behind a particular relationship, so Tinder has decided to help them move on by offering a free tattoo removal pop up service.
For three days, the leading dating app will take over London’s Sixty Ink tattoo studio offering free cover ups to anyone looking to start dating again with a clean state.
If we could swipe right on this idea, we would.
FAILS
Crust-of-living-crisis
Sandwich chain Pret A Manger came under fire for what’s now being called “Britain’s worst-value baguette”.
The Posh Cheddar and Pickle sandwich sets you back a whopping £7.15 and furious customers ran to social media to call the brand a “rip-off” with one customer explaining, “Sometimes you reach the conclusion that a brand that you used to like is no longer what it was.”
A Pret spokeswoman has insisted the £7.15 price, or £5.95 to eat out, was only in busy transport branches and that most customers buy the baguette to take away for £4.95.
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