Here we are again, and what an action-packed week it has been on the comms front. There is plenty of doom and gloom, but you can always be safe in the knowledge that I only look at the lighter side of the news agenda to deliver, drum roll please, the Good and Bad PR from the last seven days.

That being said, I want to take the time to acknowledge the Western Aussie Premier who called US Vice-President JD Vance a knob this week. I endorse that message and am sad that he subsequently apologised.

Let’s get about it.

Jurassic Park gets a Wooly first exhibit

Imagine you are a scientist for Colossal Biosciences in Texas. Whilst other scientists around the globe are trying to find a cure for cancer, or ensure another global pandemic does not crop up, Colossal are doing far more important things.

They are trying to de-extinct dinosaurs. Take that in for a second.

I know I have written about it in this column before but there has been a major leap forward.

For the record, having watched documentaries such as Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, I want it known that I do not think this is a good idea.

Anyway, Team Texas Science is planning to start with the reintroduction of the Wooly Mammoth before moving on to the likes of the Dodo and, worryingly, the Sabre Tooth Tiger. Enough of the back-story, let’s get to the exciting update.

The scientists have created a… wait for it, Wooly Mouse! I kid you not. I have seen the pictures and the press release and the world’s media has covered it.

The quote in the press release even has a scientist saying it is “pretty cool”. As a cynical and very old PR man I can count on one hand how many times I have laughed out loud in the last 28 years.

I cried with laughter when I saw the (genuine) images of the new creation. Basically, the mouse appears to have been back-combed. It has taken on the appearance of a Trump-hair-style vermin.

Not content with making the mouse look an absolute state compared to its mates, the lab boffins confirmed it had successfully adopted the Mammoths “accelerated fat metabolism”. Maybe the mouse, like I, just had a good Christmas.

I would urge Team Science at Colossal in Texas to get a proper job, but this story gives us all a lift as it is so bonkers. Mark my words though, this won’t end well. Great PR for making me laugh so much.

Mummy Pig see’s Daddy pig’s pork chop

Sticking with unbelievable animal news. Mummy Pig, of Peppa Pig fame, has succumbed to Daddy pig’s charm and fell pregnant again. Peppa turns 21 in May this year and we are all going to ignore that, apparently, pigs only live for around 20 years. Mummy pig is following the global trend of having another baby a bit later in life, and (as a new dad at the age of 47) I am onboard with this.

Joking aside, it is another feel good story and great PR by the company that owns the brand, Hasbro. Keeping a legacy media brand fresh is difficult and Hasbro are the experts in this. Especially as its portfolio includes Monopoly, Nerf, My Little Pony and Play-Doh to name just a few.

Seeing the story on Good Morning Britain brought out a smile of acknowledgement and made me even happier when my own six-month-old started giggling as Peppa’s mum took to the screen. Good PR for Hasbro.

Sainsbury's meal deal has zero appeal

My first Bad PR of the week goes to Sainsbury’s. In theory the coverage was great for this story, but the message just felt odd.

It has introduced a range of zero alcohol beers to their meal-deal. As I mentioned, the coverage came thick and fast but are the optics around it so good? My concerns are that it offers a readily available slippery-slope for those who could probably do without thinking about day drinking.

It puts the alcohol brands front and centre for kids, not least because the meal deal sections in most Sainsbury’s are near the front of the store. I think the overall risks outweigh the tactical success of the monthly PR report.

To hark back to the Jurassic Park story I started with, I would like to quote Dr Ian Malcom:

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

A rare Bad PR for the Sainsburys comms machine. Team PR should have had a word with whoever came up with the idea and pointed out that it’s not a good look.

ABRDN has rare vowel revelation

Scotland is probably my favourite of all the rural retreats in the UK. I love the people, the humour and the strong sense of national identity. My Scottish relatives were (now sadly deceased) the backbone of our family dynamic. Always there to tell it straight and the only ones able to keep the Scouse side of our family in check.

The old CEO of fund manager Aberdeen had made the questionable decision to remove all the vowels from its name, and so it became ABRDN. He was seen by many as taking the PSS.

To make matters worse, the former CEO, Stephen Bird, was a proud Scot himself. Despite the nation’s brave history, he still moaned publicly that the brand was victim to “corporate-bullying” because of the name change. Have a word.

Anyway, the new CEO, Jason Windsor (incidentally, born in England and hugely English) has stepped in and restored some national pride to Aberdeen. Good PR for Aberdeen. Even better, one nil to the common sense brigade and one for the brand team to quickly forget.

A clarification from Barr

Before I end for this week, I am experiencing a first for this column. An apology from me. A legal letter has not landed at PRmoment Towers. Something even worse, a flurry of direct messages from disgruntled muggles.

Last week I gave the Manchester Reds Good PR for the way it handled a tough comms message. I was wrong to do this.

I first shared last week’s column at 8am last Friday. By 10.30am I had received a flurry of abuse and “wtaf” messages from Manchester Reds fans themselves. Not since the Camelot Lottery fiasco of yonder year have I had so much grief. Apparently the comms and decision making around the cost-cutting at the club is of such epic fail status that it is causing hardcore fans some considerable concern. For fans of the club to get in touch, it must have been bad. The Manchester Reds Good PR has gone to VAR and been rescinded. It has been replaced with Bad PR. I want to take a moment to thank whoever shared my column with a Manchester United fanzine. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your underpants.