Good PR of the week

Before I start, I want you to settle back while I try to set the scene. It is the end of the working day at Spy HQ Ltd, you are sat in your favourite office armchair, just completed the Times Crossword, feet up, Land of Hope and Glory blasting in the background and then Bunty the famous code breaker bursts into the room and declares the following: "Sir, I have foiled those pesky terrorists using just my guile and an ancient recipe from my old Aunt Fanny's cake-making book". This is how I picture the scene for my Good PR of the week.

The spy masters and catchers over at the Government’s listening centre GCHQ joined up with MI6 and reportedly foiled Al-Qaida's first foray into setting up an English Language website by adding a recipe for cupcakes into a 67-page PDF file that was hosted on the new site that contained instructions on how to "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom".

This is good PR for a number of reasons: 1. The story got blanket global coverage (tick) but I think, more importantly; 2. The mighty British secret services did this at a time when a row was brewing between American secret services and the Brits over the best approach to take to try and sabotage the launch of the site. The Americans no doubt wanted to take a more blasty-blasty approach to the data centre the site was hosted on, the city the data centre was in, and the neighbouring villages just in case, to send out the right message. Us wiley Brits delivered a fatal blow using an old-fashioned recipe and a bit of a cheeky smirk. You will have to forgive me, I have recently read Operation Mincemeat and I am struggling to move on!

Bad PR of the week

I am sorry, I know we are all sick of this but it has to go to Simon Cowell and any company that is associated with this X-Factor USA situation. This is my take on it; I firmly believe Cheryl Cole failed to play along and has now paid the price.

A little story emerged on Friday evening that the producers of X-Factor USA were going to be releasing some footage of Cheryl on the show. I waxed lyrical on Twitter that I predicted the show would soon kick out a story saying that the USA public actually loved Cheryl and demanded her back on the show. The next day it was announced Cheryl was being invited back. In the meantime Mr Cowell, who I think knew this was going to happen all along, had been making snide comments all week via Britain's Got Talons* or whatever it is called, about our poor old Cheryl.

It looks like Cheryl quite rightly told the Americans to F right to the O (remember, she has history about being a bit rage-tastic) making Cowell look a bit of a bully and causing him to quickly fire out statements to Associated Press this week, telling the world that he still hoped to work with her in the future.

Cheryl Cole has so far kept a dignified silence, or it could be that we just cannot understand what she has been saying?

For once, Simon Cowell has got it wrong. That being said, I still bloody loves him!

*who am I kidding, I am all over #BGT like a rash.

Have you seen any Good or Bad PR? Contact Andy by emailing Andy@10yetis.co.uk or by Tweeting @10Yetis 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.