July was a strange month and not just because it’s my birthday and I officially made it halfway to fifty, but also because we had some pretty notable breaking events (thoughts and prayers with all PRs trying to cut through those news cycles), including but not limited to the hottest UK day EVER recorded, the opening of the Commonwealth Games, the Lionesses bringing it home and my favourite: the long-awaited resignation of BoJo.
Regardless, we PRs persevere and despite the news being chocka with chaos, there were still a number of creative campaigns in July that I thought were worth shouting about. Here they are.
My Top 5 PR Campaigns Of July 2022
1. Alexa, Scare Off These Seagulls
As a victim of seagull-led theft in the past, I thoroughly appreciate Deliveroo’s latest – and totally wacky – PR stunt. They teamed up with Dr Madeleine Gomas to create, according to Famous Campaigns, a song that uses “melodic and climatic calls from *real* predator birds – such as falcons and eagles – to keep the ferocious scavengers at bay”.
I love this one because not only is it totally original and defintely worthy of some attention on press and social, but it bangs the relevancy drum too. Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I can’t stand campaigns that have no real link to the business putting them together, so the fact that Deliveroo can conjure up such a creative initiave that still links back to them being a food business, wins allllllll the brownie points from me.
2. Boris Heads To The Job Centre
Halfway through the month was a move nobody saw coming (and there is absoloutely no hint of sarcasm here). Dear old Boris took a second away from partying and pissing away all our money, to announce his resignation. Hurray!
However, it was a time of turmoil for PRs across the country as this news dominated the agenda for days. One brand, though, managed to cut through more than any others. A big kudos is in order for them. Madame Tussauds carted their wax figure of BoJo off to the Job Centre to celebrate his depature from no.10, and it was one of the only PR stories at the time to actually attain decent coverage. Even the BBC wrote it up, which is pretty good going!
3. You’ll Soon Be Able To Recycle Your Nappies
My previous campaign mention has given me the perfect segway to this one, because despite the news agenda being notoriously difficult during that week in July where Boris decided to screw us over one final time, our AMAZING team still managed to secure BBC broadcast coverage for our client Pura; though admittedly it’s a story worth talking about!
This lovely company we work with (which was only founded in 2020) is pioneering a nappy recycling trial in Bristol, which is the first of its kind in England. Nappies and sanitary products are notoriously difficult to recycle, with millions of tonnes of waste going to landfill every single week. I’m so proud to be working with a brand instrumental in making change happen, and despite releasing the news literally the day before the ‘Big Resignation’, the press still had a lot of love for this story!
4. Spoon Shaped Fries Guarentee The Perfect Ketchup Ratio
This blog is quickly becoming as much of a fan of Heinz as it is the likes of Innocent, Burger King & AirBnb. They make my ‘hall of fame’ again this month with another quirky, classic campaign. Accompanied with a consumer survey and timed perfectly to team up with ‘National Fries Day’, the brand launched limited edition fries that are shaped like a small spoon to ensure you scoop the perfect amount of ketchup. This stunt was initally announced on Twitter and I read up about it on Famous Campaigns.
I really like it because it’s on brand (there she goes again) but is also unique enough to garner public attention. We all know how increasingly difficult it is to do this, as more and more brands hop aboard the PR train. It just goes to show, however, you can be an established brand and still introduce new and daring ideas to refresh the interest in your products. Hats off to Heinz for doing exactly this!
5. Could It Be Hotter Than Nandos?!
If you’re reading this then congratulations, you survived the most unbearable day of all time, as we tipped the record for having the hottest day ever here in the UK!!! It was extremely insuffarable and we PRs may as well have taken the day off, because for love nor money, nobody was getting any of their stories covered by news journalists that day unless it was a specific story on how not to want to rip your skin off every 5 seconds.
The heatwave presented a perfect opportunity for newsjacking, and Nandos took the crown in my opinion. Known for turning up the heat with their trademark spices, the day after the thermostat topped 40.2C at Heathrow, Nandos launched a series of print ads and social snippets declaring that the weather officially won the battle of ‘who’s the hottest?’. This was my favourite heatwave-related content I came across, because it was super on brand for Nandos and reinforced their USP, but was also the perfect combination of creative yet simplistic. I know I’m not alone in this thinking, as this has been shared far and wide on social media since!
Where Else To Find Creative Inspo?
As I mention every month, there are a number of wonderful industry professionals who culminate weekly, fortnightly, or monthly newsletters that bring you all the best PR campaigns in the same place. If you like this blog I highly recommend you follow and read these too. They are…
- The Grapevine by Iona Townsley
- The Weekly PR by Bethanie Jane
- Work In PRogress by Abi Bennets
You can also check out…
- Creative Corner by Rich Leigh / Radioactive PR & Creative Moment
- Good & Bad PR by Andy Barr & PR Moment
- Famous Campaigns by Taylor Herring
Jessica Pardoe | PR, Marketing and Communications Blogger | See All Posts By Jessica Pardoe 