Matt Seabridge
12 February 2025
PR Campaigns I saw and kinda liked Volume 1
Looking to start a new thing where I share more cool PR campaigns that I've come across recently and thought were pretty cool. So I've given it a name and put "Volume 1" at the end of it to motivate me to do it more in the hope of avoiding the shame of there being something with a Volume 1 but never a Volume 2.
Before that though, I'm trying to grow my newsletter so here's the cheap plug for it. If you opened this post, you'll probably be interested in The Digital PR Observer Newsletter for a number of reasons, one being that every Wednesday I analyse five old campaigns from my archive collection that performed well.
Pop your email in here to get the latest Digital PR news and resources, tips, data sources, jobs, and campaign inspo.
Severance Pop Up at Grand Central Station
https://deadline.com/2025/01/severance-cast-lumon-office-glass-box-grand-central-station-apple-1236257413/
What happened?
The stars of Severance appeared as their characters at a pop up in Grand Central Station to promote the second series of the Apple+ TV Show.
What I liked about it:
There's viral and then there's VIRAL
This went EVERYWHERE
It made Severance look like the hip show people want to be part of - FOMO effect
Masterfully targets both current audience (people who loved Season 1) and target audience (people who haven't watched it yet)
If you watch the show you can appreciate the meta nature of the stunt on a whole other level (it's so clever)
Danny Dyer - Sky Broadband Butler
What happened?
Sky teamed up with Danny Dyer and Geoffrey the Butler to promote switching to their Sky Broadband service
What I liked about it:
Brand building - it's FUN and clever
Geoffrey off Fresh Prince hits all the nostalgia vibes
Switching broadband is boring - but Danny Dyer and Geoffrey the Butler isn't
It actually does a good job of solving a pain point for customers by making switching to Sky broadband seem easier, after finding that 31% of us think switching providers is just too much hassle
The Traitors x Nespresso
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/33288354/the-traitors-stars-free-coffee-nespresso/
What happened?
Linda and Minah off The Traitors helped Nespresso giveaway free coffee to help launch their new products
What I liked about it:
Brand collabs can be gold when done right and Nespresso nailed this
Uses the fame and popularity of The Traitors to launch their new products
Feels authentic, genuine and not overly commercial
Likely didn't cost a fortune to execute either
Speed is key - I'm sure loads of brands are plotting brand partnerships with The Traitors cast, but Nespresso managed to be one of the first
easyJet Holidays Life Admin Concierge Service
https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/media-centre/press-releases/life-admin-concierge
What happened?
easyJet Holidays gave people the chance to win a life admin concierge service so they don't have to use annual leave for life admin tasks
What I liked about it:
It takes a "dry" survey and makes it FUN
Finds a user pain point relevant to the brand, and provides a creative solution
Great example of a stunt campaign that can be done on a low budget - it's just a survey and a creative idea with a press release and landing page
Links across lots of regionals, but a feature on "This Morning" is gold for brand metrics
Proof that survey campaigns can be so much more than just "present the results and build some links"
"Subject to availability" 😉
The Traitors: Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql5xg6x0dko
What happened?
Spa Seekers repitched their campaign on the most trustworthy accents as a Newsjacking response to Charlotte on The Traitors putting on a fake Welsh accent
What I liked about it:
Reactive PR at it's best
Great use of an existing campaign that can be repitched for Newsjacking angles
I bet this article did huge page views due to the success of The Traitors which means lots of brand impressions
Feathers McGraw in Hot Demand at Tattoo Parlours
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqlvdq7qr7o
What happened?
A Tattoo Parlour managed to get coverage on all of the big National titles after doing six Feathers McGraw tattoo's in a week
What I liked about it:
Gets a brand front and centre of a trending topic that is HUGELY popular
It's not actually all that much of a story - it's one artist that has done six Feathers McGraw tattoo's in a week
Goes to show that you can make a trends story out of very little if it's unique and creates a good headline
The case study with images and quotes take this from an interesting data point to an actual story that Journalists can cover
BetUS: Weiner Connoisseur
https://www.betus.com.pa/mlb/how-big-is-your-wiener/
What happened?
BetUS looked to hire someone to go to Baseball stadiums to discover which had the biggest weiners (not like that you filthy pervert)
What I liked about it:
It's silly and fun but in a way that works
It makes total sense to a US audience while being very amusing to a UK audience
The "Dream Job" format still has legs if you can make a fun story out of it
They actually continued the story after the initial competition aspect, to publish the findings
A great example of how you can get links from two rounds of coverage with competition formats - first launching the competition, and then outreaching the results/case study
Radical Storage: The World’s Most Anxiety-Inducing Destinations
https://radicalstorage.com/travel/anxious-destinations/
What happened?
Radical Storage analysed online reviews of popular tourist attractions to discover which had the most anxiety related keywords in the reviews
What I liked about it:
The methodology is amazing and very well thought out
It's a different and creative take on "the best destinations for..." style map/index campaigns
It's actually genuinely really useful for people that struggle bad with anxiety
Ahrefs is already showing 62 Referring Domains, 51 DR 50+, after three months of being live, with coverage across a number of different countries 🔥
Reckon: The Best City In Australia to Start Your Business
https://www.reckon.com/au/small-business-resources/startup-cities/
What happened?
Reckon created a index campaign to rank the best cities in Australia to start a business in
What I liked about it:
Well executed index campaign with strong data points
A fantastic methodology section
Super on brand and extremely relevant to the brand's target audience
The "download the full report" form to collect emails of target customers - great way of thinking beyond just Digital PR when producing campaign pages
The Cornish Company: Christmas Dinner Scone Maker Apologises
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/christmas-dinner-scone-maker-apologises-9845451
What happened?
The Cornish Company launched a Christmas Dinner Scone and then later released a PR Stunt apology for doing so
What I liked about it:
Coverage in January for a Christmas campaign 👏
A great example of how to get a second wave of coverage from a stunt campaign
How they've offered people a discount code as an "apology" to help convert readers into coverage
Uber Eats x Andy Murray
https://x.com/thetennisletter/status/1878264915921956866?s=46
What happened?
Uber Eats tried to kidnap Andy Murray and deliver him to someone?
What I liked about it:
The consistency between Uber Eats ads with different celeb partnerships
The "you can get anything on Uber Eats" messaging is simple, clear and effective
Murray's deadpan humour makes it a hit
IKEA Sweden and the Harlem Shake
https://www.famouscampaigns.com/2025/01/why-ikea-sweden-just-dropped-the-harlem-shake/
What happened?
IKEA Sweden finally launched a loyalty program in 2025, and played into the late to the party trope by being late on other pop culture trends too
What I liked about it:
It's so clever how they're owning being late to launching a loyalty program by doubling down and being late to other trends too
Nostalgia vibes
IKEA always deliver with their marketing stunts
Go2Africa: The World’s Top Bucket List Experiences
https://www.go2africa.com/african-travel-blog/worlds-top-bucket-list-experiences
What happened?
Go2Africa analysed search volume data to reveal the top bucket list experiences around the world
What I liked about it:
Map campaigns when done well give you so many outreach angles
The topic of bucket list experiences is super relatable and has a huge audience
Great example of a data-led campaign that can rank for keywords too - 18 super relevant keywords ranking on page 1 in the US after three months
Ranking position 1 for "top bucket list experiences" and page 1 for " top bucket list destinations" - long term traffic results ftw!
The Lower Tiers: Fanbase Growth in The Championship
https://x.com/LowerTiers/status/1889381264949760293
What happened?
The Lower Tiers on Twitter analysed how the average home attendance at Championship stadiums have changed vs six years ago
What I liked about it:
This could easily be a banger of a link building campaign
There's so much great content inspo on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, etc)
Great content is great content, it's just the distribution channels that change
Google Pixel x Sol Campbell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQvG0WQkpU
What happened?
Google and Sol Campbell obliterated Tottenham Hotspur
What I liked about it:
It's very witty and clever with lots of inside jokes
The advert launched in the lead up to the North London Derby
It gets everyone talking about the advert without realising they are sharing an advert for Google Pixel
It's brave af given it rips a pretty large fanbase to shreds
Everyone likes a good laugh at "Tottspur" tbf
Stat Significant: Which Celebrities Popularized (or Tarnished) Baby Names?
https://www.statsignificant.com/p/which-celebrities-popularized-or
What happened?
Stat Significant analysed how celebrities can have a positive and negative influence on the popularity of baby names
What I liked about it:
Stat Significant is one of my favourite newsletters for data stories about entertainment topics - so many interesting reads and content inspo
Baby name campaigns are a popular Digital PR campaign format - this is a great example of how to dive deeper into your data analysis
Celebrities sparking baby name booms is kinda predictable, but the ones sparking a decline are super interesting (especially the Marilyn Monroe one)
CouponPi: The Cost of a Relationship
https://www.couponpi.com/blog/cost-of-relationships
What happened?
CouponPi conducted a survey in the US to reveal how much we spend on relationships
What I liked about it:
Good example of turning a survey campaign into a larger data-led piece
Is very evergreen but also has big Reactive events it can be attached to
The comparison between straight and gay couples is a cool touch
Barry from EastEnders: "I was shoved down the stairs of my Kent home by a ghost"
If you made it this far you deserve this little treat.
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