My Top 5 PR Campaigns Of April 2023

With Barbenheimer on the horizon, April’s roundup includes some PR greatness from Mattell and the Barbie Movie marketing team as well as my FAVOURITE April Fool’s joke of the year and the vending machine of my dreams. Here’s my pick of my favourite campaigns from the month.

My Top 5 PR Campaigns Of April 2023

1. Barbie AI Filter – Barbie Movie

Thought to be the film of the summer, the first full-length trailer for the Barbie Movie dropped in April, along with an iconic AI filter that had EVERYONE in a chokehold. The selfie generator dropped by the brand not only gripped most of the people I follow, but lots of brands got involved too, spreading the Barbie brand far and wide. A lush example of how a bit of extra marketing can elevate your launch and then some! Just look at those social numbers…

2. Down’s Syndrome Barbie – Mattell

I promise this blog post won’t be entirely pink and sparkly! BUT, I couldn’t not include this charming campaign from Mattell. In a move to make sure every child can find themselves represented in a Barbie, the company launched a Down’s Syndrome doll at the end of April as part of its ‘Fashionistas’ line, said to be the most diverse yet including a Barbie with a prosthetic leg, a wheelchair user, and male dolls that are thinner and less muscly. The last few years have been really progressive in ensuring that everyone feels represented within the things they encounter every day, from clothing adverts to toys. To see Mattell make another step in the right direction to achieve this always gets a thumbs up from me!

3. Ketchup Fraud… It Has To Be Heinz – Heinz

Okay this one is cheating a bit as technically it was a March campaign. But if I didn’t hear about it until April, it still counts, right? I absolutely loved the OOH and print activity around ‘ketchup fraud’, orchestrated by Heinz, which indicated that even when restaurants don’t use their ketchup, they pretend they do due to its untouchable reputation. The whole thing compliments the ‘it has to be Heinz’ slogan really nicely, and it reminds me of the KFC chicken stock campaign from last year. Imitation is the highest form of flattery they say, and we love a brand that gets playful with this (instead of spiteful… M&S!).

4. Book Vending Machine – Penguin Books

Anyone who knows me IRL knows I’m a huuuuuuge bookworm, with a particular fondness for reading trending books. I still take Richard and Judy’s book club recommendations all the time! So, of course, the life-sized book vending machine created by Penguin was always going to get a shoutout. How amazing is this? Commuters can pick up a last-minute book from Exeter St Davids Station and the company promises to change the titles often and to reflect important historical and cultural events throughout the year such as “LGBTQ+ History Month, Black History Month and Cop28.” Apparently, the first vending machine of this kind dates back to 1937, so WHY am I only just hearing about this now? 🥵

5. Tinder Bans Fish Pictures (April Fool’s!) – Tinder

Now that April Fool’s campaigns are pretty safe to do again, I’m really into them. Especially as I got to do my own for one of my clients this year (which is mentioned in this Metro article, ayo). There were the usual kinds of efforts from brands again this year, all pretty good but the one that had me ROLLING was Tinder announcing it was banning fish pictures from profiles on the dating app. Really I loved it for no other reason than that it was funny as hell and I love a brand that doesn’t always take itself seriously. One to think about for next April…

Thank you as always for reading and for supporting me, and always happy to continue the conversation on my socials. Also, if you ever spot any campaigns you’d like to hear my opinion on, please send them my way. Always happy to hear from you. Read my other blogs here whilst you wait for the next one.