Welcome to the best PR campaigns and stunts of 2018! (Well, so far anyway!) It’s happened again folks, we’ve all blinked and missed the past 6 months of our lives; after all that must be the only explanation for just how incredibly fast the first half of the year has gone. It seems like only yesterday that it was January and everyone was going about their lives singing the Greatest Showman and waiting to see whether Kylie Jenner was pregnant or not. Here we are, six months later (admittedly still singing the Greatest Showman) and the year seems to have whizzed by in hazy blur.
If you’re just as much at a loss as we are about exactly what has happened over this first half of 2018, then you may just want to stick around and have a read of our 2018 PR roundup of our favourite PR stunts and campaigns to date, and relive the best marketing stunts of the year so far.
January: Greggs Goes Gourmet For Valentine’s Day
Here at Ricemedia we can’t deny that we’re suckers when it comes to all things love. This is why Gregg’s Valentine’s Day PR stunt really set our hearts a flutter as one of our first favourite campaigns of the year. Announcing at the end of January that the famous bakery chain would be hosting candlelit dinners on February 14th, Gregg’s flawlessly gained masses of national coverage as people revelled in the ‘cheap and cheerful’ brand trying their hand at fine dining for a night. Having fun with their brand image, Gregg’s proved to everyone just how successful inverse marketing can be.
February: Diesel Goes Undercover for New York Fashion Week
February started off with a bang as renowned fashion brand ‘Diesel’ went undercover in the streets of New York as a supposed counterfeit brand; Deisel. Hidden amongst the knock-off stalls in Canal Street, Diesel sold their authentic and genuine merchandise to unwitting passers-by during the run up to Fashion Week. Needless to say, they were more than thrilled to find out later that their ‘Deisel’ jumpers and t-shirts were actually the real thing. A smart move by the PR team of Diesel, this ironic stunt was a bit of tongue and cheek, and a great way to mock society’s obsession with logos in a funny and fresh way. Diesel proved that sometimes the best campaigns are those that don’t take themselves too seriously.
March: Virgin Targeted Millennials with the Irresistible Avocado
Notorious for selfies, brunching and eating avocado alongside everything else, millenials have been the butt of many jokes over the last few years. In March of this year, Virgin decided to take a pop at making one themselves. Responding to the sold out popularity of the limited edition ‘Avocard’, for one week and one week only, anyone aged between 26-30 could bring along an avocado whilst purchasing a Virgin train ticket and receive the same discount off their fare as the coveted ‘Avocard’ offered. Embracing the stereotype of the millennial in a humorous and lighthearted fashion, Virgin’s campaign was incredibly successful, and goes to show just how effective targeted marketing can truly be.
April: Smith & Whistle Captivated Man with Man’s Best Friend
Puppers, doggos, woofers; whatever you want to call man’s best friend – here at Ricemedia we love each and every dog, be they smol or large. So it probably comes as no surprise that one of our absolute favourite PR stunts of April was a dog friendly cocktail menu created by Mayfair bar, Smith & Whistle. Fashioned from dog friendly alcohol and healthy nutritional ingredients, the menu allowed dogs to relax with their owners by lapping up ‘Hound’s Hops’, ‘Poochie Colado’, ‘Bubbly Bow Wow’ and even ‘G & T: Ginger Tails’. Hailed by dog lovers up and down the country, this simple but effective canine campaign shows that nothing beats a classic people pleasing PR stunt.
May: The One with The Deliveroo Meat Trifle
When it comes to comedy TV shows or even just TV shows full stop, who doesn’t love Friends? Still undoubtedly one of our go to reference points for witty one liners, the popular show still resonates with audiences around the world, long after it’s final episode had aired. And of course when it comes to Friends who doesn’t remember Rachel’s oh so iconic meat trifle? The result of two recipe pages sticking together, Rachel combines jam, custard and lady fingers with potato, peas and beef in a hilarious and unforgettable Thanksgiving malfunction. Ever savvy, Deliveroo decided to jump on board this TV gold moment by re-creating the infamous trifle which went on sale for a limited time period during May. Proving how popular culture references never fail to disappoint, Deliveroo’s PR stunt resulted in a hilarious and popular campaign that allowed Friends fans to live out their throwback fantasies in the best way possible.
June: The World Cup Works PR Wonders
Whether you’re a football fan or not, there’s no getting away from the World Cup this year. Splashed across TVs, newspapers, social media, radio and magazines, you can’t look anywhere without being hit by football mania – football is coming home after all. With over 3.2 billion people tuning in to watch the 2014 World Cup, it’s no wonder that hundreds of companies look to utilise the World Cup with their own football related PR stunts. From football pitch food displays in grocery stores, to Carlsberg’s ‘taste of Russia’ beer caviar, to Swedish beer brand Norllands Guld printing live tweets on pints, to energy drink Carabao’s inclusive ‘#WeAreFemaleFans’ campaign, June was ablaze with innovative PR stunts that got the world talking. Proving just how effective it can be to jump on the current events bandwagon, PR proves itself once again to be an invaluable media relations tool.
So there you have it; the best PR campaigns of 2018 so far, but with 6 months left to go before the end of 2018, we can’t wait to see what exciting stunts the rest of the year will bring.
If you’ve been inspired by any of these creative PR stunts and are looking to build up your company’s online presence, then make sure you reach out to our PR team today and we’ll help you take your business to new Google heights.
