The week following the Super Bowl is usually followed by an epic serving of hot takes from creatives. Usually on the big winners, the big losers and of course, the big ad spend.

You won’t be reading any of that nonsense from Stunt Watch.

This Stunt Watch writer hates world sports played by one country, and I found all the adverts boring.

Overall, the Stunt Watch team believe the best creative is earned, and you don’t have to spend millions to make a massive impact. To prove the point, here are three excellent – but also cost-effective – stunts that touched down this week.

Aldi gets into Castle-core

The ludicrous size of it meant he couldn’t turn his own head, but there’s no denying that Jaden Smith’s Transylvania-chic hat certainly got others turning. Somewhat predictably, it also put social admins into overdrive as a slew of reactive newsjacking efforts soon followed.

Several brands tried to land jokes, but the king of this castle was Aldi’s amusing effort. It rapidly recreated Jaden’s castle-core look by perching a kids playset set onto the head of the some poor lad clearly still in his probationary period.

But this was more than just a funny stunt, the idea was brand smart too. The battle for middle aisle supremacy is real between Lidl and Aldi and this was a winning example of the latter, showcasing Aldi’s surprising range The price differentiation message was also clever, Jaden’s hat is available to buy for $4,500, the castle set is available for £24.99. Jaden’s hat is amazing, Aldi’s castle is everyday. Combine the two and you have Aldi’s UK slogan “Everyday Amazing”.

The media lapped it up and, 101 pieces of coverage later, the average punter now knows two things: Aldi sells kids toys at affordable prices…and it’s always funny to include PR people in your hero image.

Pringles pop-up for when your console drops off

Every now and then, a campaign comes in that speaks to all of your personal biases. I’m a fan of gaming, I’m a fan of Pringles (sour cream and cheese all day) and I’m a fan of Mischief’s top creative Lewis Durkin. So, when I saw Pringles were launching a pop-up retro gaming workshop that promised to refurbish your old consoles, there was a very strong possibility that this was going to end up in Stunt Watch.

Operating out of Peckham’s iconic gaming bar Four Quarters, the workshop further cemented Pringles’ ubiquitous presence in gaming, but with a healthy dollop of nostalgia to give it that media-friendly edge. Sure enough, the media and influencers turned up, got their consoles fixed and in exchange delivered a healthy amount of coverage…although GamingBible’s fury at what constitutes ‘retro’ and the service’s limitations were fully warranted. Apparently a PS2 is now retro and the SEGA Saturn can’t be fixed. Utter woke nonsense.

From booty call to beigel call: Tinder links with a legend

That’s right, I’m an impossible hipster. I could have gone big on McDonald’s partnership with Stormzy but my fellow Stunt Watch-er Kim Allain has stronger opinions… and I love beigels. But this isn’t the only reason I really enjoyed Tinder’s partnership with the iconic Beigel Shop, Brick Lane.

Tinder is clearly trying to move away from its reputation for being a hook-up app, and into a more holistic events, culture and experience product. The reason I was drawn to this activation is less brand transition and more that it looked a total vibe. It was basically a massive party in a beigel shop. DJs, singles and salt beef; what more could you want?

The best compliment I can give this campaign is the full transcript of my conversation with the agency behind the idea:

Me: “Yo, just saw this on ImJustBait, how much did you pay them for it?”

W Comms director Gabby Griffin: “We didn’t, they just posted it organically.”

Me: “F**k off, as if.”

Griffin: “No, honest!”

Me: “Consider yourself Stunt Watch-ed.”

As a nice bonus, it’s also worth noting that the Beigel Shop, Brick Lane is a cornerstone of Jewish culture in East London. In a week in which the industry barely batted an eyelid at some of the most appalling anti-semitic marketing, it felt apt to celebrate a campaign that felt like cultural kosher. Mazel tov.