I am not saying that it has been a quiet week in media land, but Sir Kier having the opportunity and time to launch his new TikTok account tells you all that you need to know.

Fear not though dearest reader, for I have kept my ear close to the ground in order to bring you the hits and shits from the last seven days in the world of PR.

Clarks Village gets a bit of Umpf from Lando win

When Lando Norris won the F1 crown he would have, no doubt, been excited about the opportunities that would come his way. Six-figure watch sponsorship deals, the best table in every Monte Carlo restaurant, invitations to the kind of parties that us mere mortals can only dream of. I would speculate that above all of that would be the desire to have a street renamed after you, in your hometown, in a high-end shopping centre.

Step forward Clarks Village in Somerset and our friends at multi-PRmoment Award winners Umpf. It turned around a fantastic newsjacking opportunity in record time and boy did it land. The media have loved it.

Great PR for everyone involved, Umpf, Clarks Village and obviously, Mr. Norris himself.

MyJobQuote gate showcases allegedly dodgy PR practices, fuelled by AI shortcuts and a weakened media

The Press Gazette piece on the number of alleged fake spokespeople at MyJobQuote may have a number of brands twitching right now. Cision has become linked to the story because of MyJobQuote placing stories on its distribution platform, which have then been taken up by various digital publishers.

It’s not just bad PR for MyJobQuote, the worry for the publishers involved will be if Google, ChatGPT etc decide to give it an SEO/GEO algorithm whack.

Tesco raises the plight of wonky Christmas trees

Let’s get back to something far nicer. Step forward Tesco. Its Christmas campaigns this year have been very refreshing. The ads focus on the realities of Christmas; coming together as families, potentially arguing, and that not everything has to go smoothly for a perfect festive period.

This week saw Tesco focus on the humble wonky Christmas tree. It was an unusually twee message from the retail giant. For one day only, it gave away a load of the slightly off-trend trees from its stock. Oddly spaced branches, crooked spine, chunks missing, that kind of thing.

The message was that the trees still deserved to fulfil their destiny (a slow death in an argument-packed family household?) despite how they may look. A strong message by Tesco that, as I say, aligns perfectly with its overall 2025 Christmas campaign. Great PR for the retail supremo.

Guinness PR machine is a dream to watch in action

I would imagine that except for St Patrick’s Day at Cheltenham Races, the second biggest Guinness-selling period of the year is family get-togethers in pubs at Christmas. The brand doesn’t need to come out with all-singing-all-dancing John Lewis-esque campaigns, just a subtle reminder here and there.

On the run up to the festive break the brand kept itself front and centre with the people via the launch of its first ever Harp Guide. The guide tells you which pubs serve a pint of the black stuff in the correct way, with side notes on ambience, warmth of welcome and all that kind of thing.

The media loved the guide, many introducing it as the Michelin equivalent, but for a pint of Guinness. The press office will have loved that. The press release announced that the muggles can get involved next year by submitting their favourite Guinness serving pub.

Fair play to Guinness, this comes on the same week that many publicans have been talking about the negative effect of the last Labour budget, and the brewer is more than doing its part to try and get people back to the boozers. Great PR.

Got it right or wrong, you know where to find me and thanks as always to Alan S Morrison for the story spots.