Happy New Year to you all – is it too late to say that now? Either way, I hope you had a good one.

Good PR of the week
Hands only CPR
I think I use the word "brilliant" too much. The same goes for "great". In fact, my lack of linguistic variation has got to the point where every time I write either word, I die a bit inside. Hang in there, I’m going somewhere with this. I think.

Every good stunt, example or campaign I Tweet or write about then becomes no better or worse than "brilliant" or "great", with each seemingly on par. The reason for my word-limit swallowing stream of consciousness writing is to get across the point that, if something can be "brilliant", but well, better than everything else I call "brilliant", this example is surely that.

Are you still there?

If you are, this awareness campaign video by the British Heart Foundation – a charity I choose to support for the top-notch work it does with hearts – is well worth a watch.

Star of the piece Vinnie Jones trended in the UK (possibly worldwide, but I missed it if he did), as did the term "CPR". The video aims to highlight "hands-only CPR" – borne out of the fact that you have enough oxygen in your blood to keep you alive, as long as somebody keeps it pumping around your body for as long as it takes for an ambulance to arrive. The video uses the Bee Gees’ 'Stayin’ Alive', suggesting that you should press in time with the beat.

The idea of having to perform mouth to mouth scares some people and as such, news that anybody with hands can perform lifesaving CPR without having to breathe directly into somebody’s facehole will no doubt save lives. I hope she won’t mind me writing about it, but Burson-Marsteller PR Laura Oakley Tweeted this in response to the video, providing a real-world example of the need for wider understanding and confidence of CPR techniques:

After watching a Spurs fan die of a heart attack in the stands last night I'm going to learn CPR.

The more people who attend a first-aid course, or simply watch the video and have a basic understanding of how to administer "hands-only CPR", the more lives will be saved. I hate to get all serious in what I’ve always tried to keep a light-hearted column, but this campaign is brilliant.

Thanks to Beccie Stevenson, Parasol Group’s Steven Proud, EML Wildfire’s Louise Moran and iseePR’s Bobby Peryer.

Obama joins Instagram

US President Barrack Obama has joined Instagram in the first week of the first month of an election year. Although this is another obvious effort to reconnect with the social-media-savvy generation who bought into his "change we can believe in" rhetoric of 2008, you can’t deny the PR benefits Instagram will probably enjoy as a result. It’s been a crazy year in terms of endorsements for the photo sharing app, with Justin Bieber joining in July 2011 to widespread media attention.

Thanks to O’Herlihy Communications’ Jill O’Herlihy-Ryan for sending me a link to the story.

Bad PR of the week

Pepsi defends itself with gross declaration

A man from Wisconsin, America is suing Pepsi, having allegedly discovered a dead mouse inside a can of Mountain Dew, way back in 2009.

Although the man claims that Pepsi "destroyed the evidence" when he sent it, he’s after $50,000 in damages. Although the basis of the story is nothing new – people have found all manner of weird and wonderful things in food and drink and taken the responsible brand to court for years – there’s a pretty grim twist in the tale.

You see, in response, Pepsi has had a scientist testify on its behalf that that there was no way a mouse could have made it through the bottling process. Why?

Because its body would have dissolved into a "jelly-like substance". That’s why.

Cue public outrage.

Cheers for Dubit’s Paul Rayment and Flagship Consulting’s Lewis Shields for Tweeting with this!

La Redoute cocks things up

It’s a beautiful scene. Four kids, replete in La Redoute’s finest swimwear run arm-in-arm on an idyllic beach.

Wait – what’s that? No, it can’t be – hang on – yes. Yes it can. It is, isn’t it?

It’s a man with his actual penis out. Well, he’s naked and as such has everything else out, too, but it’s the penis we’re all bothered about, right?

How this was missed by whoever uploaded it to the site is anybody’s guess, but it’s fair to say that no company ever wants the words "children" and "naked man" associated with it.

If you want to see a zoomed-in version – you know you want to – follow this link.

Fellow Yeti Emma Kent spotted this thanks to James Herring of Taylor Herring fame.

Have you seen any good or bad PR?

Contact PR Rich Leigh with it by Tweeting him @GoodandBadPR or by emailing rich@10yetis.co.uk throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.

Good and Bad PR is a feature on the blog of 10 Yetis PR Agency.