Good and Bad PR: Big Mac sauce, Dele Alli and the Strictly Curse

Good PR

Whatsapp

If you’re anything like me, then chatting in Whatsapp groups to friends, family and co-workers will take up a pretty decent chunk of time each day, and as a result has a tendency to completely drain your phone battery in the process.

Well good news everybody.

Finally, Whatsapp has released its dark mode for a selected group of iOS and Android users, with the much anticipated feature designed to save battery and cut eye strain by muting the app’s background brightness. According to the metro, gossip surrounding the update has been circulating for around a year, and a select group of people who signed up to a testing platform called Testflight are able to try out dark mode.

Whilst it still looks like it’ll be a while until the feature is rolled out widely, there is already some criticism of the feature. One Twitter user appeared to be so disgruntled with the app, her response was simply six vomiting emojis.

OUCH.

San Antonio Zoo

The PR stunts to coincide with Valentine’s Day have begun circulating, and one has certainly caught my attention…

San Antonio Zoo is giving people the chance to name a rat after your ex that will be fed to a snake there this Friday- all for the bargain price of $25 (about £19.40). Whilst this might seem like a pretty dramatic way for single individuals to showcase any bitterness and resentment they might harbour towards a former partner, at least this is a much less emotionally draining way to celebrate the holiday than by drinking wine, eating chocolate and crying over old pictures and videos on Facebook whilst listening to sad love songs.

The event is set to be live streamed on Facebook this Friday for anyone interested!1

McDonald’s

After the UK was battered by the winds and gales of Storm Ciara earlier this week, a lot of people had plans and events cancelled or delayed, including the EXTREMELY important introduction of McDonald’s special sauce to the menus.

I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.

The sauce which, up until now has only been available as part of the Big Mac burger, can now be purchased in a dipping tub form in restaurants nationwide for 50p. The recipe is a very closely guarded secret, and I for one cannot wait to stock up for all my French-fry dunking needs.

In order to commemorate this joyous occasion, one London branch of McDonald’s also gave away 250 full-size bottles of the iconic condiment to customers who kept a close eye on the app and could make their way to the correct restaurant in time to pick theirs up.

Those of you as obsessed with the special sauce as I am will need to get a move on, as it’s only available whilst stocks last, and the team at Maccy D’s are predicting they’ll be sold out within a month!

Bad PR

Dele Alli

The Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli is potentially facing a ban from football after the FA has opened an investigation looking into the video he shared on his social media seemingly mocking the Coronavirus and making reference to an Asian man coughing nearby whilst sitting in an airport lounge.

In the video, the 23 year old can been seen wearing a mask, with the caption below reading:

“Corona whattttt, please listen with volume”

The camera then pans around to the man coughing, with another caption appearing that reads:

“This virus is gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me”

Apologising for his actions after generating a lot of anger from followers and the media, Dele Alli now awaits his fate regarding his blatant racism and lack of common sense. Many are speculating this will be a one-game ban alongside a £50,000 fine. Hardly significant to a man who earns £100,000 A WEEK!

Kelvin Fletcher

Well well well, the Strictly Curse strikes may have struck again, and this time we really weren’t expecting it!

Actor Kelvin Fletcher, all-round nice guy, winner of the 2019 series and best known for his long-standing role of Andy Sugden in the ITV soap Emmerdale, has been photographed walking into a London hotel at 3:30am with his dancing partner Oti Mabuse.

Whilst the photos didn’t suggest there was anything going on between the pair other than a friendship, the plot somewhat thickened after Kelvin’s wife and the mother of his two kids unfollowed him on Instagram just hours after their release. Insiders reported that Liz Marsland, who has been in a relationship with the actor since their teenage years, was furious at seeing her partner out so late with his celebrity friends whilst she was at home looking after their young family.

This is of course not the first time that romantic rumours have swirled surrounding contestants and their dance partners, with the show now synonymous with causing heartbreak, divorces and affairs.

Watch this space.

Written by Lauren Wilden, head of PR at 10 Yetis. Seen any good or bad PR lately? You know what to do @10Yetis on Twitter or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email