Bad PR

Drivers spill the beans on Amazon
It’s been a terrible week for Amazon as yet another story, this time with details about the harsh conditions many of its drivers face on a weekly basis, has been published in the national media. 

According to a report written over the weekend and printed in The Sunday Mirror, many Amazon drivers are being forced to work 12-hour long shifts as they struggle to deliver their 200 parcels a day quota.

Employees told The Sunday Mirror that they often find themselves having to break speed limits (which is the most dangerous and ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard) in order to meet targets set to them.

Amazon is known to use agency drivers, meaning their workers are on “self-employed” contracts. This means the company does not have to give drivers holiday or pay them sick pay.

In the same damning report, whistle-blower drivers revealed that some of them are earning less than the minimum wage AND that they are often forced to urinate in bottles as they have no time to stop for toilet breaks. Madness.

Not the first time the retailing giant has been in hot water over its working conditions and it probably won’t be the last.

Plastic predicament
I can’t help but also include the human race in this week’s choice for bad PR. After the eye-opening, enlightening and quite frankly harrowing season finale of Blue Planet this weekend, news outlets everywhere have not stopped reporting about the amount of plastic that sadly winds up in our oceans, killing wildlife and destroying nature.

It has been reported that there is currently 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste on this planet, with the majority of this located in landfills or in a natural environment. It’s also been predicted that plastic will outweigh fish by 2050 if we continue down this path. David Attenborough and the Blue Planet team have shone some much needed light on this tragic topic but if we continue down this destructive path, the future of our oceans is not a positive one. 

Good PR

Family comes first
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is right around the corner and pretty much the entire population can barely contain their excitement. The first responses from critics are positive, which is a relief, but my pick for good PR doesn’t go to the film itself, my pick goes to one of the lead actors, John Boyega, for taking his family to the European premiere.

The young actor, who plays the character Finn, practically dragged his whole family to the exclusive event, as seen below:

John Boyega brought his whole family! #StarWarsTheLastJedi pic.twitter.com/BAqxOvHroZ

— Off Set (@WeAreOffSet_UK) December 12, 2017

Fans of the series, along with a number of publications including Mashable, Metro and the Mail Online, are loving the gesture, praising his actions.

Gin + Cheese = Amazing
Combine the two greatest things on the planet and what do you get? That’s right, gin cheese, and now, thanks to The Cheshire Cheese Company, you can actually buy a block of gin and lemon flavoured cheese.

The cheese has been given a magical description, with the creators saying it is a “masterful balance of gin and lemons, resulting in a totally unique and incredibly tasty cheese blend”.

The internet has rightfully gone crazy over this pairing, with the product getting coverage on popular publications like The Sun, Pretty52 and Glamour. What a perfect Christmas treat (hint hint).

Written by Harriet Dalwood, PR account executive at 10 Yetis Digital, @HarrietDalwood on Twitter.
Seen any good or bad PR lately? You know what to do @10Yetis on Twitter or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email