Good Beckham vs Bad Beckham

The start of this week started off with a bloody big bang for brand Beckham, now aptly dubbed as ‘Bexit’, as the eldest (now ostracised) Brooklyn Beckham, took to the favoured instagram stories for a tell-all tale of the bubbling family feud which has been dripping through ink of the tabloids for months. I won’t use up my word count and time to explain the story, as i’m sure you’ve probably already seen it, but it was an explosive, headline making an office-gossip goldmine, which in turn meant that it was on the tips of the tongues of PR’s up and down the nation.

When a reactive opportunity presents itself like this, account leads everywhere are asking how they can jump on it.

A scramble of ideas falls around, which client can this work for? What would be funniest? How can we get in on the headlines? In that speed of idea turn around we seldom stop to ask; should we jump on this?

This section isn’t a battle of morals, but a battle of taste. Two reactive ideas, with very different tastes.

Up first, On The Beach, who quickly mocked up a fake ad with a new campaign centred on a special ‘Beckham clause’ — available in case family fallout drama scuppers your holiday plans.

Done very well, the hands replicate Beckham's tattoos and the tearing of the ticket to “Brooklyn’ (to what I assume is Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn…. ha) had all the visual queues that aligned and worked well within itself. The copy left a bit more to the imagination, a bit forced and clearly pushing a very fake service that if someone - hopefully the family that diverted my flight to Spain a few years ago — did try and claim would be met with a very robotic reply.

The second, a reactive social post from Yorkshire Tea, which mimicked the visual style of Brooklyn’s (or are we supposed to believe it was his) essay, switching the narrative to be about the spoons controlling the story around tea, very funny, very on brand and something that worked perfectly for the platform.

Two stunts, with very quick turn around and to very different tastes. Reactive stunts take us back to our purest form, they can be and should be some of the best work PR’s do, the ability to think quickly, get it made and get it out is an art and doing that art well is what sets the PR industry apart from other creative sectors.

Pie, mash and marathons

January is that fun time of year where your inbox starts looking like a support group when every runner you know suddenly can’t wait for April, and if you’re one of the very keen people actually training at this time of the year, you’re incredible.

This year New Balance decided to launch its official 2026 London Marathon training range in a place that feels very different, M.Manze, London’s oldest pie and mash shop. Now, pie and mash isn’t what you’d call typical sportswear launch territory, but that’s exactly why it works. It feels very London, and takes place in a prominent spot on the marathon route.

The range itself covers the basics you actually need for London training, wind-resistant jackets, heat-boosting layers, reflective training tops and leggings with pockets

But, I really love this mash up of partners. Given New Balance’s history of quirky, local hotspot type collabs, through its ongoing partnership with ‘Run The Boroughs’. It lands in a way that feels right and it acts very differently from the rest of the category’s launches.

It’s a brilliant, unexpected partnership that I think we’ll see a lot more of in this coming year, and being a West Ham fan who lives in East London, I couldn’t not include this.

Branded merch gets a glow up

Last year PR had a bit of an issue (let’s call it that) with every agency/brand on the planet suddenly deciding it needed to be a fashion label. Tees, hoodies, socks, varsity jackets, bags (so many bags). Some good, most forgettable. It all started to feel like brand cosplay rather than design.

A couple of weeks into January and we are already seeing the next development. Less novelty apparel, more considered objects. Things you might actually want to live with. Case in point, BIC teaming up with Italian homeware designers Seletti to turn the humble ballpoint pen into a pendant lamp.

Whilst BIC does have one of the most iconic product designs of all time, it's not known for its beautiful design. On paper, it sounds like a joke. In reality — it is beautiful. The proportions are right, the detailing is sharp, and the glow from the pen tip is just understated enough to make it feel intentional rather than kitsch. (God, I can still do the design speak)

What helps is that this does not feel like BIC desperately trying to be cool. Unexpected partnerships like this only work when there is a logic behind them, and Seletti is known for elevating everyday objects into something design led.

It is also very different from the rest of the category. Instead of chasing attention with wearable merch, this is about taste (I have a theme this week it seems).

Don’t know about you, but I would absolutely have one of these in my house (currently asking GG to get one for Frank’s Office). Not sure my wife would let me though.

The hangover cure nobody asked for

As always, we’re going somewhere weird and whacky for the final piece. This week, we’re off to Estonia where Bolt Foods have come in hot to the new year.

Bolt Food has launched what its calling kebab water, a mineral infused, kebab flavoured drink designed to prevent hangovers. Yes… actually. And yes, I would like to try it.

The thinking is great, Bolt Food’s data shows kebab orders peak between 10pm and 7am… Shock. But, most of those orders come without a drink. The only logical response is to invent a beverage that tastes like the first bite of a donner at 4am, paired with claims to soften the hangover the morning after.

Instead of playing it for laughs and calling it a day, it has properly stuck to the bit with; professional beverage creators, a PhD in flavour science, lab tests to make sure it tastes right, brand identity inspired by East London kebab culture (get in), a mini documentary, a limited run of 364 bottles and a two-week gifting spree across Europe to creators, critics and curious idiots like the rest of us.

It’s full of that ‘would you try it’ factor which is so rich in making ideas like this work, it sounds grim, but yet so interesting to try. Therein lies the buzz and chatter that the brand is desperate for, fair-play to the brand and to the people of Estonia for keeping Kebabs and Nightlife alive, something we seem to have lost here.