Good PR

Banksy is back making headlines in the South West and beyond, after leaving his unique artwork across the exterior wall of a Bristol school. This move follows the naming of a school house in Banksy’s honour at Bridge Farm Primary. Although it’s a typically political and strange design, the teachers and pupils were thrilled by their new décor on their return from half term, with the head teacher branding it ‘inspirational and aspirational’.

This is a lovely community-inspired move by the famous anonymous artist, showing his appreciation for their recognition with the best gift he could give. The media has always had a fascination with Banksy, largely due to his anonymity, and every new design always makes headlines – as well as often booming the value of the property in question.

The lovely Martin Lewis is another fellow who is enjoying the limelight, following a great response from the media to an exceptionally ‘reliable’ and ‘reasonable’ guide to the EU referendum. The guide explains the situation and arguments in a balanced way, without any confusing jargon or wild accusations; essentially, it’s exactly what people need. He says himself that there are ‘more shades of grey than E L James’ bookshelf’ in this issue, and he’s certainly right, so if there are any measures to simplify the situation it will be warmly received. This also furthers his position as a trustworthy public figure and a man of the people.

Moving onto more corporate news, Vimto has announced that it is expecting a surge in sales during Ramadan, revealing that it has become hugely popular in the Middle East as the religious festival sees the brand experience massive sales peaks. This unexpected market has attracted media attention even over here in the UK, revealing that there’s more to the Manchester-born purple can than meets the eye.  

Bad PR

Now for the other side of the coin, Sports Direct has been facing intense scrutiny following an awful story hitting the headlines about the high-pressure working conditions, investigated following the revelation that a worker gave birth in warehouse toilets for fear of taking too much time off work to have her baby. The company’s six-strike policy has meant that staff members have been sacked for such trivial pursuits as ‘excessive chatting’ and ‘horseplay’, leaving the media to compare the sports retailer to a Victorian sweatshop. It also found that some staff had been paid less than the minimum wage and some managers were abusing their positions and behaving like ‘sexual predators’.

While Mike Ashley, Sports Direct boss, positioned all this information as a series of ‘unpleasant surprises’ to him when in front of the MPs of the Business Committee, there’s only so far that he can play ignorant – and the papers are already branding him ‘arrogant’. Mr Ashley is also the owner of Newcastle United FC, which was relegated to the Championship last month. Not a good time for the man all round.

Moving over to some TV news now, Chris Evans is another man who is just not having a good time at the moment. Following its return to our screen, Top Gear has seen a plummet in viewer stats and many are placing the blame on the new chief presenter of the show. From criticism over how ‘shouty’ he appears through to questions over the authenticity of the relationship between him and Matt LeBlanc, many viewers have been left disappointed in the show and seem to be switching off as a result.

Noel Edmonds is another fellow who’s been royally upsetting people, this time through the medium of Twitter. The Twittersphere is a rather hazardous place at the best of times, but Noel Edmunds has caused quite the stir by apparently stating that an electromagnetic pulse machine can ‘tackle’ cancer – something the manufacturers vehemently deny. When questioned, he then rounded on a tweeter and suggested his cancer was due to his ‘negative energy’, which has since caused outrage throughout the Twittersphere and beyond.

Written by, Leanne Bryan, 10 Yetis

Seen any good or bad PR lately? You know what to do @10Yetis on Twitter or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email.