What a week it’s been! No one seems to know what it going on with the state of the UK lockdown or even what our Christmas like look like this year.

But the world of PR must carry on so here are the week’s examples of good and bad PR for you to try and take your mind off of all the doom and gloom surrounding Covid.

Good PR

Ribena
They might not be to everyone’s taste, but there is no denying that replacing traditional plastic straws with paper alternatives hugely benefits the environment and will go a long way to creating a more sustainable future for our beloved brands. Plastic straws currently contribute to 4% of plastic waste worldwide, that’s a whopping 2,000 tonnes per year.

Back in 2019, when McDonald’s decided it would become the first big food franchise to make the change from plastic to paper straws, it was hit by a huge uproar from fans, claiming the new recyclable straws didn’t last long enough for you to finish your drink. However, a year later and everybody seems to have forgotten about ‘how bad’ the straws are and have got back to happily enjoying their milkshakes.

It’s great to see Ribena getting the praise it deserves for being one of the first big drinks companies to trial bendy recyclable straws in its supermarket products.

Airbus
We all take for granted the fact we can just hop onto a plane and fly to the other side of the world in a matter of hours. When you think about it, it’s truly remarkable, we also rarely think about how it impacts the earth.

The aviation industry has been under considerable scrutiny over the last few years because of the impact it has on the environment; contributing to 700 million tonnes of Co2 emissions per year.

Well, Airbus has hit the headlines this week with the unveiling of its zero-emission commercial aircraft concept. With an ambitious goal of carrying passengers by 2035, the new hydrogen jet still has a long way to go before we’ll see it on the runways.

2020 Emmys
Despite the obvious limitations of a virtual awards ceremony, the 2020 Emmys was a hit with fans and actors alike. The host Jimmy Kimmel did a typically good job of keeping everyone entertained whilst recognising the unusual nature of this year’s ceremony.

These year’s big winners Schitt’s Creek, Succession and Watchman. Schitt’s Creek won nine prizes – breaking the Emmys’ record for most wins in a single season. Succession winning best drama series and Watchman won best-limited series.

Some more of this year’s highlights include a surprise appearance from (half) of the cast of friends and Zendaya, 24, who became the youngest ever winner of best drama actress.

Bad PR

Molly-Mae Hague
Love Island UK contestant and influencer Molly-Mae has been all over social media this week with her 8k luxury giveaway, which included a huge set of Louis Vuitton bags and cases, a MacBook, plus some of her own products.

The post successfully got around two million shares online and gained Molly a huge amount of Instagram interaction as well as a whole host of scrutiny amongst the wider UK media.

However, it seems that many Molly-Mae fans were left angry with the way the competition was decided. Out of the two million entrants, only 25 names were put into an online generator, where the ultimate winner was decided. Not the best move for an influencer reliant on her popularity amongst adoring fans – at least give them a glimpse of hope they might win!

Written by Lauren Wilden, head of PR at 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