Selfridges gets the Disney treatment

Disney has gone full visual theatre this Christmas with a takeover of London’s Selfridges. Most Londonders would rather do anything than brave Oxford Street at this time of year, but for those that do,Disney has put itself right in the middle of the action.

Street spectacle tends to be winning at the moment. As the Evita stunt from earlier this year proved, if you give people something oversized and unexpected, they will stop, pull their phones out and share it. Disney is playing the same card here.

Christmas lights takeovers aren’t new, making something big isn’t new. But, this hits the sweet spot, with the timed moments throughout the day to make a bit of theatre, giving people a reason to go and bringing a bit of magic to shoppers and visitors at a time of year full of magic with some picture desk fodder and something everyone has already seen on social.

I just feel a bit sorry for retail staff who have to hear it on repeat.

The scratchable Christmas jumper

Tom Daley has teamed up with the National Lottery to launch a “scratchcardigan” which is exactly what it sounds like; a knitted Christmas jumper you can physically scratch to win.

Stupid Christmas jumpers are my kryptonite, and this is an insane entry into the mix for this year. We’re seeing a few knitwear collabs happening lately, but this one lands and works because it’s silly and a great pic.

Most festive merch barely clears the bar of novelty and becomes a bit of a badge slap. It is also a competition that doesn’t feel like a competition, because you’re not entering anything, but wearing it and hoping for the best. That small shift makes it fun and more likely to get picked up. 

The ultimate season ticket

Most brand competitions promise a prize that sounds great on paper, but doesn’t live up to expectations. Competition PR is hard, but Heineken has skipped the usual merch, meet-and-greet routine and gone straight for the podium. A full F1 season ticket. Every race and location, it's the kind of prize you normally assume is reserved for the children of team principals.

It cuts through because it is absurd in the right way. Competitions are everywhere and most barely register, but when the reward is something people would actually brag about for the rest of their lives, it stops feeling like a promo and more like a golden ticket moment. It fuels its own PR.

If you want a competition to land, this is the blueprint. Don’t offer something people could buy themselves. Offer the thing they’ve already convinced themselves they’ll never get.

Cheese couture takes over the underground

Now, time for what might be my favourite ever pièce de résistance, or should I say cheese de résistance, as an old tube platform is turned into a one-off fashion venue.

Fashion students created outfits inspired by French cheeses inside a decommissioned Tube carriage. All whilst eating each outfit.

The show was hosted by CNIEL, the French Dairy Interbranch Organisation (also, what an insane name) . I love it. It’s bonkers but it’s totally unexpected, and turning forgotten infrastructure into a spectacle is becoming a reliable move for brands (see every cafe/pub takeover in London for the past six months) This one leans into it and just enough chaos to get people talking.

It doesn’t need much more of a write up, have a look through the pictures. I’m just sad I missed it.