So the end is in sight with regards to working from home as myself and the team gear up to make a staggered return to Yeti HQ next week for the first time in over 4 months. I can’t quite believe how long my dining table has been my desk and how awful my back feels after 16 weeks sat down on my (very uncomfortable) dining chair!

So, what better way to mark the end of my working from home journey with a hefty dose of Good and Bad PR…and today we’re heavy on the positive!

Good PR

Morrisons

Ahead of Yorkshire Day on August 1^st (this Saturday), the team at supermarket chain Morrisons have introduced a limited edition ‘Yorkshire Box’ – full to the brim of some classic products that originated in the county.

The box - which can be delivered to your home or a loved ones – costs just £25 and features a selection of Yorkshires most iconic producers. As well as classic Yorkshire Tea, recipients of the box can also enjoy a range of biscuits, Wensleydale cheese, pork pies, chutney and ground coffee.

This is just one example from the range of Morrisons food boxes that have become hugely popular during lockdown. There are a variety of 15 options to choose from, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, BBQ food and British food. For me though, Morrisons are being handed good PR this week for creating the ‘Family recipe box’ – a £30 offering which has been created for families attempting to stick to a budget and contains enough food for 5 meals, which is £1.50 per meal. Genius.

Costa

Here’s one for all the coffee lovers out there.

After announcing that they’d be partaking in the governments ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, it’s been revealed that throughout the month of August customers will be able to grab a cup of the good stuff for just 32p!

Obviously there is a catch here, it’s not like every drink is going to be this cheap. What it does mean is that if you take your own cup to one of the chains (which means you automatically get 25p off anyway) then a standard cup of their filter coffee – normally £1- will only set you back 32p.

It’s not just coffee you’ll be making mad savings on either. Croissants will only cost 59p the whole of next month, effectively meaning you will still have 9p change after buying a coffee and a croissant in a British coffee chain outlet. WHAT KIND OF MADNESS IS THIS?

Refund My S**t Date

I simply HAD to include this story in Good PR this week because I can’t remember the last time reading an article made me smile so much.

The basic premise of the ‘Refund My S**t Date’ website is that people can share stories of some of the worst dating experiences they’ve ever had, and if the founders like yours enough then they will refund you the amount you spent (up to a maximum of £100) to make up for the horrendous experiences of modern-day dating.

There is obviously some VERY clever self-promotion going on here due to the fact that one of the co-founders is a musician who was ‘inspired to start the site from the lyrics of one of her songs’ (hmmmm, sure you were hun), but nevertheless you’ve got to give the site credit for originality and some INCREDIBLY funny nightmare dating stories.

Clarks

As the mother of a two year old whose feet seem to grow a new size EVERY MONTH at the moment, there is no way I wasn’t going to give a thankful shout to Clarks for this blessing/PR stunt.

Following lockdown, the brand have announced that they will be allow parents to swap out the shoes their kids have outgrown FOR FREE from now until February 2021. That means seven months of parent being able to save some much needed cash on kids shoes. Love it.

As always, there are some strict terms and conditions outlined in the small print on the Clarks website, and the offer only applies to shoes purchased in store, and at full price between July 13^th and September 14^th 2020. Clearly a very clever stunt to entice customers and footfall (pun intended!) but I want free shoes for my kid so I’m in!

Bad PR

Wiley

A pretty shocking and quite frankly inexcusable series of anti-Semitic tweets from the British rapper Wiley earlier in the week have led to a permanent suspension from Twitter, following similar bans for the grime artist on his Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Wiley, known as the ‘godfather of grime’ music amongst this fans, took to Twitter last Friday night and shared a series of updates targeted at the Jewish community, with one comparing them to the Ku Klux Klan.

Many are angry about how long Twitter took to shut down Wiley’s account once and for all, with many celebrities and MP’s even partaking in a 48 hour boycott of the platform until action was taken. The Campaign Against Antisemitism commented: “Twitter has finally listened. The closure of Wiley’s account it too little too late, but it is at least a start for this deeply irresponsible social network.”

Harry and Meghan

Arguably two of the most talked and written about members of the British royal family have found themselves the subject of yet ANOTHER major controversy this week following the publication of a book that the couple appear to have leaked information and stories to.

The book, called ‘Finding Freedom’ details the early stages of their romance and highlights how Prince William urged his younger brother to ‘take his time’ getting to know ‘this girl’ which according the authors, Harry found snobbish and condescending.

Many people are speculating that the LA based couple had a little more to do with the information leaked in the book – which portrays them in a positive light compared to the rest of the monarchy- than they are publicly admitting.

Watch this space, I doubt we’ve heard the last of the scandal regarding this book!

Written by Lauren Wilden, head of PR, 10 Yetis Digital. Seen any good or bad PR lately? You know what to do @10Yetis on Twitter or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email