Cuprinol Peckingham Palace bird box PR stunt

Cuprinol is a brand with a heritage in great PR stuntery. They pretty much invented the whole “cool shed” thing with their Shed of the Year Awards and have cleaned up in the media ever since.

However, with a new agency has come some fresh ideas – and this was one that caught the eye of Antics Roadshow.

Last week saw the launch of “Peckingham Palace”, the most luxurious bird box ever made  and a scale replica of a certain royal household …

We’re seeing a slew of royal-related tomfoolery as the Jubilee creeps ever closer with an “if you can’t beat it, join it” attitude amongst savvy PRs this year faced by the challenges of the Jubilympics (© BBC’s Twenty Twelve).

QVC’s Royal Flowerpots did rather well, Marmite’s Ma’amite limited edition is once again cleaning-up in the media and John Smiths' royal plates have been popping up all over the place.

So why do some work?

This one works to some degree because it’s so off the wall that it only makes sense when you see it – sort of the definition of a creative idea.

It’s got the brand in there but has done so with splendid subtlety. The flag flying proudly referencing the brand in the picture and the editorial doing the rest.

It’s got a spot of social media – if only for the pun, as the bird box Tweets every time a bird visits.

But most of all, it rides the wave of royal interest in the media right now without having to over-rely on the Queen, the Jubilee itself or the sixty years.

This is an idea that might have worked in any year and at any moment during that year. The fact that it’s the Jubilee and that there is a royal reference there front and centre is part of the appeal.

The take on it is a sideways one and that makes it stand out all the more, with Jubilee-fever helping it on its way, rather than being the be-all and end-all of the story.

James Gordon-MacIntosh is a managing partner at Hope&Glory PR and from time-to-time pens Spinning Around, a blog that he describes as “thinking out loud”