So this heatwave is a little too much isn’t it? I mean I like it warm but this is just TOO MUCH when you have to go into an office all day and jumping into an ice cold pool or sitting on a sunlounger with a mojito in hand isn’t an option. 

Anyway, here is this weeks column outlining how certain brands and individuals have been winning or losing in the world of PR this week. I’m off to try and find some shade, a fan or an ice cold glass of dry white wine!

Good PR

Free Cider from Hawkes Brewery

Right now, there is nothing that sounds more perfect to me than an cold pint of cider to enjoy this glorious weather with, but a new campaign from a British brewery in London is aiming to highlight just how many apples are wasted each year in the UK (4.4 million according to Waste & Resources Action Programme) by giving away 5,000 pints of the good stuff.

Yes, you read that right. 5,000 pints of free cider up for grabs on Thursday this week.

Hawkes Brewery, in Bermondsey, is looking to highlight to the general public and apple lovers just how under threat the much loved fruit is by threatening to pour 5,000 pints of cider ‘down the drain’ – unless customers pop along between 2pm-8pm to buy one drink, and then make the most of the free refills on offer. All profits made will be donated to ‘Social Orchards’, an initiative that plants food forests in the UK capital to give free fruit out in local communities.

Happy drinking, Londoners!

Blockbuster

For those of you old enough to remember a life before instant movie streaming on the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and NowTV, the overwhelming joy of a trip to Blockbuster to choose a VHS to watch at home was a highlight of a weekend.

Well, if you ever find yourself in the Deschutes County area of Oregon in the US, then you can relive those simple times with a trip to the worlds last remaining Blockbuster, which has been turned into the ultimate nostalgic Airbnb.

The genius store managers have seen the ultimate business opportunity in the space, and have had the interior decorated with sofas, beds, bean bag chairs and a big-screen TV to watch classic movies or play video games, all nestled amongst the iconic video packed shelves of yesteryear.

The price of a one-night stay at the pop-up Airbnb will cost just $4 – BARGAIN!

Ed Sheeran

Congratulations are in order for singer Ed Sheeran this week after the announcement that his wife Cherry Seaborn is pregnant with the couples first child, with the due date JUST around the corner!

The notoriously private couple, who’ve known each other since childhood and didn’t announce that they’d married until months after their January 2019 wedding, deserve a huge pat on the back for managing to keep the pregnancy under wraps for almost 9 months, no doubt helped by lockdown and being able to stay indoors as much as possible.

The burning question now is whether or not the baby will come out with red hair to match their Daddy!

Bad PR

Samantha Yardley

A story that has riled up A LOT of Britons in recent weeks has been that of personal trainer Samantha Yardley, who admitted to This Morning hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford that she would judge a potential employee on their size, and suggested that obese people are more likely to be lazy, lethargic and fail to take responsibility for their health.

Whilst many people took her controversial opinions personally, with some even sending death threats, Samantha stands by her comments regarding the very real danger of being obese. She disagrees with the notion that poor health should be glamorised in the media, despite still claiming to support the body positive movement wholeheartedly.

Her goal, as reported on the Metro, is to providing tangible change and helping to support obese people on their journeys towards better health. Maybe she could go a slightly nicer way about it in the future!

Arsenal

As we’ve now officially entered into another recession, it’s only to be expected that many Britons will face redundancies and job losses in the coming months, but the announcement this week that Football club Arsenal are planning to let 55 staff members go doesn’t sit right with a lot of people considering the amount the club is worth.

Despite the fact that first-team players and head coach Mikel Arteta agreed a 12.5% pay cut in April, and its executive team waived more than a third of their salaries over the next 12 months, the club is now saying it faces more significant and long-lasting reductions in revenue than initially hoped.

The proposals will now enter a 30 day consultation period – so watch this space on how it progresses!