Here’s another round up of our favourite PR campaigns of the last month. July had a great selection of campaigns to choose from, including Dutch bus stops designed for bumblebees, to football shirt stunts that got the company fined.

Keep reading to find out my top five PR picks of July.

 

Unlabelled Diet Coke

In a new campaign for summer, Diet Coke has voluntarily shed the labels from its cans to spark ongoing and authentic conversations about labels that surround people. A limited-edition collection of Diet Coke cans with no branding is trending at festivals and events to support Pride parades across the US.

Through a series of short films, Diet Coke is sharing the stories of unique people who have felt rejected through stereotypical labelling in the past. Diet Coke has also announced that its Instagram and Facebook channels will become “safe spaces” for followers to share their personal stories.

The project tying with Pride celebrations has created a high volume of interactions across social channels about the campaign. In supporting the Pride movement with positive messaging across the globe, Diet Coke is now considering putting unlabelled cans into stores for ongoing social impact.

 

A colouring-in and AR type of morning

In Australia, Kellogg’s released black and white packaged cereal boxes in partnership with Crayola, encouraging consumers to make breakfast time more creative.

These monochrome boxes were released across major retailers, offering consumers a chance to ‘Colour & Win’ Crayola prize packs daily. The project also featured an augmented reality feature for prize draw entrants, which brings their coloured-in characters to life.

The Kellogg’s and Crayola partnership campaign uses the creative idea of stripping colour from boxes as a tactic to stand out on the shelves of supermarkets. Plus, it’s a great incentive to get children to express their creativity in a digital age, giving both brands further edge over competitors.

 

The buzz stop

A Dutch campaign has received widespread coverage across the world by sharing images of bus stops that have been turned into ‘bee stops’ in the city of Utrecht, with each roof adorned in plants as a gift to honeybees.

A total of 316 bus stops were covered with sedum plants to attract honeybees and bumblebees with its flowers. Not only do they look botanical, they were also designed to clean the air of fine dust particles and store rainwater, which will keep the air cooler in the hotter months.

Utrecht has also introduced 55 new electric buses powered by wind turbines. This campaign comes as part of the Netherlands’ efforts to help maintain clean air in busy areas. They are also offering a scheme for residents to apply for funding to transform their own roofs into green roofs.

This particularly striking campaign capitalises on the global trends of eco-friendly efforts in biodiversity and air pollution, highlighting and furthering the message of looking after the environment, whilst ticking the aesthetics box to encourage sharing worldwide.

Here at Cobb HQ we’re big fans of bees, so this campaign gets a 10/10 from us.

Dutch city turns 316 bus stops into ‘bee stops’ to help bees thrive

 

Barbie space cadet

Barbie aims to get more girls into space with a new campaign featuring a Barbie doll creation of Samantha Cristoforetti, the European Space Agency’s only active female astronaut. The campaign is to help young girls explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The collaboration between Cristoforetti and Barbie was created by Mattel, the company behind Barbie, to encourage young girls to ignore constrains from artificial limits. The campaign is a part of the brand’s ‘Dream Gap Project’ which is a global initiative dedicated to levelling the playing field for girls.

Not just highlighting progression within the brand’s creative work, the campaign makes a bold statement around breaking down barriers to encourage equal rights for both girls and boys in future careers.

 

The Paddy Power stunt that got them fined

Betting company, Paddy Power, recently announced sponsorship for Huddersfield Town’s new football kit, releasing photos of the team in the new shirt that features a large ‘Paddy Power’ sash across the front.

The campaign caused uproar with football fans that pointed out a breach of FA guidelines, but it was later announced that the sash-style sponsor was a part of an elaborate prank. As they revealed the real team kit, it appears the Paddy Power logo has been removed, providing a sponsor-free shirt.

This announcement was a part of its new ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, where they make the point that “football shirts aren’t billboards” and that they should remain sacred in football. The creative director, copywriter and graphic designer of this stunt united to devise a campaign that cuts through the noise and starts a conversation.

In recent news, Sky Sports released an article stating that the FA has charged Huddersfield Town with misconduct for their publicity stunt with Paddy Power, as they debuted their sash-style shirts in a pre-season friendly match.

I don’t think the FA found that one amusing.

 

Seen a PR campaign that you think is 10/10 or need help launching your own? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at hello@cobbpr.com.