Just before Easter, I made a critical Stunt Watch error. Thanks to an algorithm flooded with AI-generated action figures, I felt I hadn’t organically seen enough banging campaigns from the world of earned creative. So, I put up a bat signal for agencies to pitch campaigns for inclusion. I thought I would receive three or four great examples, and this week’s round-up would write itself. This was a foolish assumption.

Three things became clear within an hour of this post. PR people still love coverage about coverage, the art of the pitch email is very much alive, and misery-inducing articles about PR’s reputation, redundancies and recession are exactly that — miserable. There was enough exceptional work in and around the Easter period to fill a mini-awards evening.

Clearly still drunk with power from having agencies pitch at me, that’s how I’m theming this week’s Stuntwatch.

So, without further ado, here is The Unofficial Earned at Easter Awards. Sponsored by Stunt Watch.

Best Use of Stars Aligning - Kindred and MOJ/HMPPS

Some of the best campaigns have an element of stars aligning, and that’s why I love Kindred’s ‘Probation in Verse’ campaign.

The state of the nation’s prisons has become a regular political football to be kicked around the commentariat, and as a result, probation and prison officer jobs lack romantic appeal.

There’s a joke here about some recent goings-on at HMP Wandsworth that may refute this, but I wouldn’t stoop that low…

"Probation and prison officer jobs lack romantic appeal."

To inject some poetic beauty into the perks and power of being a probation officer, the campaign called upon poet laureate Simon Armitage to write a piece on the vital role they play in society. It’s a nice idea anyway, to put poetic verse into a topic so visceral. But, this is where the stars aligned. Simon Armitage used to be a probation officer.

BOOM.

The poem itself is gorgeous, using a flowing A-Z motif to walk you through the day in the life of a probation officer, but the authentic insight is the cherry on both the creative and coverage cake.

The likes of Evening Standard and The Big Issue wrote up the campaign, but unsurprisingly where it really excelled was audio channels. Armitage participated in a hugely successful radio day, and the poem was played in full on BBC Radio 4’s flagship ‘World at One’ programme. As any PR over the age of 30 will tell you, that is proper bucket list coverage.

Lastly, it did the job it set out to do. A spike in probation job searches followed, clearly demonstrating that dropping bars can help keep people from going back behind bars.

Best Use of Weather and Puns - Grayling for Greene King

Whenever I am explaining British media culture to colleagues from abroad, I run them through PAWS — potholes, aliens, weather, seagulls — the four pillars of guaranteed silly season coverage.

If you can land an idea that covers one of these topics, you’re likely in business. If you cover one of these topics with a world-class pun, you’re definitely in business. If you set this campaign in a pub…well, you get the idea.

Step forward, ‘The Sipping Forecast’ by Grayling and Greene King. A playful twist on the iconic shipping forecast, ‘The Sipping Forecast’ saw British actor and geezer Larry Lamb (Gavin’s Dad) deliver weather broadcasts for pub gardens across the UK to promote Greene King’s ‘When It Rains, We Pour’ campaign — a pledge to buy up to 100,000 free pints for pub-goers across the UK if it started raining while they were in the pub garden.

For something so brand-heavy to get as much coverage as it did is a testament to the PAWS effect. The likes of This Morning and The Daily Mail did full features on the campaign, but it wasn’t just ‘Trad PR’ results, Instagram content creators Saskia Marriott, Johnny Fisher and Mark Thorburn also ensured it rained impact on social media too.

The real star of the show? The British weather. It gave us a hot weekend, then it chucked it down — resulting in 41,000 free pints given out to soaked sippers — a record redemption rate for a Greene King promotional offer.

Best Use of Brand Mascot - Cirkle for Captain Birds Eye UK

To demonstrate how impressed I am with this campaign, I’m going to take you back to 2010 and an exchange with a consumer journalist.

Me, young, enthusiastic, coverage go-getter extraordinaire: “Got a fun one, Tina - one of the Tetley Tea Folk has…”

Journalist, mean, grumpy, maybe going through some stuff at home: “I’m going to stop you there. Nobody gives a f**k about your brand’s characters and if you think I’m going to give you a free advert you can f**k off too.”

This exchange stayed with me throughout my career and has caused me to respond violently to any client (or ad agency) when they have suggested we should do a PR/earned campaign around a brand’s mascot.

So when the good folk at Cirkle got in touch to say they had just killed it with a campaign, a competition no less, to stay in Captain Birds Eye’s lighthouse, I was genuinely fascinated. Surely the only coverage would be generated from some loosely related, paid-for survey story? Surely there’s some sort of paid promotion agreement with media titles? Apparently not.

Once I took a step back and got over myself, it became clearer why this was such a hit. Firstly, Captain Birds Eye is up there with Ronald McDonald as being in an elite class of brand mascots with genuine iconicity. On top of that, lighthouses are sick, I would genuinely love to stay in one, especially if it's stocked full of fish finger sandwiches! On top of that, it’s just good value. The sort of media titles that covered this story know their readers come to them for deals, value and solutions to combat the cost of living. A holiday in a lighthouse, combining the British Omaze obsession culture with a free trip speaks loudly to tabloid readership.

A commercially-minded partnership with Morrison’s ensured sales accompanied the silly season vibes and waves of coverage followed, including The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star and a host of regional titles. The social content also performed well, especially on TikTok, and across shared social channels.

The worst thing about this campaign? It might persuade more clients and ad agencies that you can PR brand mascots.

Best Use of There’s Something in My Eye - Premier Comms for Pancreatic Cancer UK

There are a few unspoken rules in Stunt Watch. No campaigns with obvious paid-for coverage, no including your own campaigns and if you have frivolously used Gemma Collins, The River Thames or Potter’s Field, it has to be really, really good.

Premier Comms passed the test with its ‘Shoes of Hope’ campaign for Pancreatic Cancer. The 797 pairs of running shoes on display at Potter’s Field were generously donated by survivors, supporters and families affected by pancreatic cancer. It poignantly represented the number of lives lost to pancreatic cancer every month in the UK.

As the Charity of the Year for the TCS London Marathon, the Shoes of Hope installation aimed to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and the need for more funding and attention to support breakthroughs. With over 20+ pieces of national coverage, including some fantastic hits on Good Morning Britain and a full spread of onlines, it did just that.

The installation was unveiled by Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw, whose wife Ruth died from pancreatic cancer in 2017, and who is running the TCS London Marathon this year. Audenshaw was joined by other well-known names including Barbara Flynn, (whose husband passed away), and presenter Adil Ray (who lost his mum).

Alongside the many powerful messages and dedications from families affected by pancreatic cancer, there were some well-known names, including actress Olivia Williams (who survived the disease), actors Richard Armitage, Alison Steadman, and chef Ainsley Harriott, (who all lost their mothers to pancreatic cancer), Billy Postlethwaite (in memory of his dad Pete Postlethwaite), reality star Georgia Toffolo (whose father-in-law passed away), boxer Amir Khan (whose mother survived), and film producer Jemima Goldsmith (in memory of her dad).

There’s so much to like about this campaign. Striking visuals, authentic influencers and clear, powerful messaging. Pancreatic cancer survival rates have stood still for too long; let’s run to make them better.

Best Use of Gemma Collins - Mischief for Channel 4

Channel 4’s The Piano is returning for its third season, so what better way to announce this than with a 24-hour pianothon at Liverpool Street station, featuring Sam Ryder, a host of musical talent and Gemma Collins.

Pianos in public spaces have become one of the most wholesome cultural success stories in recent times, with the likes of Alicia Keys, Jeff Goldblum and Craig David all tickling the ivories to surprise and delight commuters in recent times. However, while they are all known for their musical talent, it was a genuinely fun surprise to find out that the GC knows her G-sharp. She can legit play the piano and did so well!

The pianothon also included some talented pros and amateurs, but it was the ‘WTF?!’ energy from GC that drove the coverage.

Best Use of Garlic and Herb - One Green Bean for Domino’s

Regular readers of Stuntwatch will know I have a serious soft spot for OGB’s work with Domino’s so I’m not going to overegg this one.

It’s Easter, it’s Domino’s, they made a garlic and herb dip flavoured easter egg. Unsurprisingly, this caused a mixture of excitement and disgust but also the ubiquitous talkability that Domino’s craves, it even made it onto Lorraine’s sofa.

Simple, funny, eggscellent. As you were.