Stunt Watch: Specsavers' Auntie Army, Paddy Power takes the bus and Samaritans' stand 'Together Against Suicide’

Summer might be ending, but the sun is clearly still shining on the UK’s PR industry as we have three red-hot ideas to run you through today.

One of the biggest curses of writing Stunt Watch is that you very rarely get your own campaigns written up, or if you do — you’ve got to be a massive beg in the WhatsApp group and everyone thinks a little bit less of you.

Specsavers' Auntie Army 

Occasionally, though, it’s just good enough to get the write-up without embarrassing yourself, and that was the case with Golin’s Auntie Army campaign for Specsavers.

The excellence of online elders appears to be something that top brands have woken up to recently, so it should be no surprise that Specsavers is all aboard on aunties. 

Led by Loose Women’s Brenda Edwards, the Auntie Army calls on self-appointed aunties to nudge loved ones into booking tests before glaucoma — which is often symptomless — causes irreversible damage.

People of African-Caribbean heritage face up to four times the risk of developing the condition, and may experience it earlier in life. It’s a great insight into bad eyesight and was executed with impact.

A moving 'stats plus soppiness' video is currently banging on social, and Brenda’s star quality ensured a flurry of broadcast — most importantly landing on BBC Radio 4 to ensure that this Centrist Dad heard it in the wild.

Paddy Power takes on Amorin

Manchester United’s Ruben Amorin is the only person in the world who seems blind to the effectiveness of 3-4-3 formation.

For those who are not fully football literate, all you really need to know is that 3-4-3 is one of the more complicated systems to play in football, requiring players to be mentally astute as well as technically brilliant. Put bluntly, Manchester United’s squad is not currently blessed with either of those qualities and finds itself at the bottom of the table again.

Enter Paddy Power.

For those of you familiar with the North West’s bus routes, the 343 normally runs from Stalybridge to Oldham, but last weekend one was rerouted to go past Old Trafford, and it was carrying a message—“the only 343 that works in Manchester”.

It’s vintage Paddy Power — great copy and branding, plus a load of football fans and media alike gleefully sharing an advert for a bookmaker. Unlike Amorin’s tactical attempts, it was beautifully simple, effective and ticks a golden box for Stunt Watch. If a brand genuinely makes you laugh, you’re in.

Brighton & Hove Albion stands together with Samaritans

Lastly, we are going to stay in football but with a seismic vibe shift. Football and men’s mental health is increasingly well-trodden territory. But, when someone takes their life every 90 minutes in the UK, we cannot stop saturating the market with these campaigns.

This time, it is a partnership between Brighton & Hove Albion and Samaritans, who launched the ‘Together Against Suicide’ campaign with a hugely impactful video. It shows two football fans going to a game, and while one is still in his routine, another is acting a bit off. The creative continues to show his angst via the medium of football chants.

I’m not going to do it justice, so just watch it. In a world where the UK’s most popular and beloved boxer can feel helpless enough to take their own life, every single campaign like this matters.