Creative Corner: The Lonely Bounty, The Good Fire and The Sexiest Man Alive make the grade this week

All by myself...

When Ron Swanson declared that "creativity is for people with glasses who like to lie" he clearly had not anticipated the truth bombs Taylor Herring’s latest campaign for Celebrations would be dropping.

The #LonelyBounty campaign unveiled this week lent all the way into what the majority of people in this country know to be true. That Bounty is the worst chocolate in a tin of Celebrations.

*Pause for reaction*

The ad that launched the campaign is fab, with just the right nod to Love Actually, costumes that feel lovingly homemade but still polished, and a gorgeous cover of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ pulling at the heartstrings. The sign-off announces a Bounty Return Scheme for people to send their unwanted chocs back in January, and to coincide with the launch journalists were sent boxes of Bounty-only Celebrations.

The debate on best Christmas chocs/what’s always left in the tub if you don’t get in there quick enough happens like clockwork on social media every year so it’s a shrewd move by Mars and Taylor Herring to insert themselves into that narrative. 

I’m a sucker for creative campaigns that don’t shy away from perceived negativity and this leans right into the skid in that respect!

ReWATCH my fire!

Homelessness charity Shelter has introduced the world to ‘The Good Fire’, a YouTube video of a ‘virtual fire that provides real heat to those forced into homelessness by the pandemic’ according to the promo video.

Inspired by the fact that thousands of hours of fireplace videos are played on YouTube every day in the UK, Shelter has created its own with a charitable twist—every watch of the video of one minute plus will generate ad revenue through YouTube that will go directly to helping tackle homelessness in the UK.

A promotional film, produced by Smuggler, will be aired on Sky over the Christmas period to encourage people to watch ‘The Good Fire’ themselves.

In a week where Shelter’s plans to have all clubs wear away kits on Boxing Day for its #NoHome campaign were quashed by the Premier League, this campaign is even more timely. 

I don’t think I can put into words how much I love it! 

Such a simple idea to execute but the positive impact it can have is limitless. Hats off to lead agency Above+Beyond for delivering a campaign that really does warm me up inside.

I’m too sexy for my…

People magazine announced its Sexiest Man of the Year for 2021 this week which normally I wouldn’t pay much attention to...from a PR point of view at least.

However this year the reveal and messaging was SO good that I thought it warranted a mention here. 

Paul Rudd (yes, he who never ages) is the worthy recipient of this years’ title and in true humble, self-effacing, comedic styling he teamed up with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert for the announcement.

If you don’t have time to watch both videos (and if you’re a fan of Rudd then I promise it’s worth making time!) the skit before the reveal was, in my mind, perfect. 

On brand for Rudd, didn’t take itself too seriously, and gave the exclusive unveiling of the cover to a late night TV host legend with a huge audience that resulted in coverage EVERYWHERE. That’s a comms win if ever I saw one!

And finally, a quick nod to Aldi for its Christmas ad this week - Marcus Radishford is a stroke of genius (and getting him to lend his voice is quite a coup!), and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene with the arrest of Cuthbert the Caterpillar after *that* spat with M&S is exactly the tongue-in-cheek thing people have come to expect from the brand. Might be one of my favourites of the season so far…

That’s us done for another week! If you spot anything you think deserves to be shouted about, or you’ve launched something you know is awesome, tweet us (@Welsh_PR or @RichLeighPR) and we’ll credit any that we use. After doing this for a number of weeks now it’s fair to say we’re never short of amazing work to feature and that’s all down to the talent we have in this industry so thank you; you make our job easy.

Until next time!

Please contact Rich Leigh on Twitter @RichLeighPR, or email rich@radioactivepr.com, or Angharad Planells @Welsh_PR or email angharad@radioactivepr.com with any suggestions for this column. If you see great creative work, tell us and we’ll be sure to credit.