PR Stunt Watch: Iceland's for everyone, while Beko's dead creative

Iceland: That’s why we go to Iceland

This week’s Stuntwatch is sponsored by the British springtime, chilly with the occasional warm flourish.

Starting with Iceland (chilly) and their decision to drop mums (warm flourish). Mums and Iceland have been together longer than most Mums and Dads, Kerry Katona’s mum credentials saved them from bankruptcy and that’s why Mums go to Iceland has been an ever-present on our screens since 1988…so it feels somewhat stunty that they have changed their ad slogan to That’s why we go to Iceland.

Fronted by daytime darling Josie Gibson, Iceland’s explanation for this step-change is to reflect their growing customer base. As Iceland chairman Richard Walker put it; 'That includes everyone from students and seniors, to single parent families, mums, dads, and fitness enthusiasts. We're a Great British institution and open to all.'

Somewhat predictably, there has been some faux-outrage. Some women believe they are being erased, some men feel like they were never unwelcome in the first place - but this is exactly the sort of inclusivity, the right sort of woke, we should get behind.

Firstly, mums are - of course - still welcome and yes, will most likely do most of the shopping in Iceland. Secondly, it’s a savvy move by Iceland to point out that they are used by more than just mums. Thirdly, they’ve not ‘over-woked’ it. It’s not performative, it’s not That’s why They/Them Go To Iceland - you can’t really argue with ‘we’ - it’s effective wordplay, it’s depolarising rather than divisive. It’s inclusivity as in everyone on a level playing field, not inclusivity as in shining a spotlight on one marginalised group.

This is best explained via a friend who cannot have children. Her biggest bugbear with marketing is that women above a certain age are very often ‘mum-ified’ in media. Put another way, women get typecast as mums. For her, this small, subtle change had a big impact. In the same way the 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert did when it showed an adoption family dynamic, this one word change acknowledges that women without children exist and as a result, this ‘not-a-mum’ loves Iceland a little bit more.

Beko: A frozen asset in your will?

One of my more niche complaints about our industry is that not enough brands acknowledge that death can also be quite funny, which is why I enjoyed The Beko Addendum.

Unlike humans, Beko’s fridge freezers are built to last for a really long time - so much so, they will probably outlast their owners. The solution? Beko products now come with a legal piece of paper that allows you to easily leave your fridge freezer in your will. You might be brown bread, but your white goods live on. You might be rotting underground, but your loved one’s fruit and veg will stay fresh. It talks about death (chilly), but in way that is fun (warm flourish).

It’s a clever, simple idea that has a product truth at the heart - positioning Beko as a champion of lasting products and environmental credentials. Inheriting white goods that are still in working order ensures that the only landfill relating from death is a human body going six foot under. It also has a human truth, we are lot more willing to talk about death than marketers give us credit for…the numbers speak for themselves.

The video for this campaign has over 18m views and around 60 pieces of earned coverage. I suspect a decent chunk of this will come from a strong paid strategy, but the earned speaks for itself - death does decent numbers and given it’s the one thing we all have in common - you’d think more brands might have a go at creative that knock you dead.

The Strangers Crash Coachella

A random group walking around Coachella, nervous onlookers not quite sure what to make of it? No, it’s not Blur on the mainstage - it’s a scary ass stunt for The Strangers: Chapter One - a follow up to the 2008 slasher starring Liv Tyler.

The stars of the show are the ‘dollface killers’ and with a trilogy being planned, Lionsgate cinema need to make these faceless faces iconic - so where better to turn up than at Coachella?

A more mean-spirited writer would highlight that dead-behind the eyes hipsters and Coachella are a perfect match, but it is obviously a little more than that. Gen Z are embracing horror and cinema is coming back in a big way, so an arresting stunt like this is always going to do decent numbers. It banged on TikTok, but also secured an avalanche of earned coverage in the horror film press, which is where horror nerds like me go to find out what is on the scream scene.

This is the clever bit. Amongst horror film aficionados there tends to be positive correlation between a film that goes big on marketing and a film that is good. This is because horror films tend to be lighter on budget, so if there’s more noticeable efforts to market them - they think they’re onto something. Hopefully the horror will match the hype.

This week's PR Stunt Watch was written by Greg Double, creative director at BCW Global.