Missed Birthday Balloons

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) has released its ‘Annual Campaign for Good.’ Launched ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day and aimed at raising awareness of suicide amongst those aged 24 and under, which has now become on of the leading causes of death amongst young people in the UK. The powerful display of 6,929 helium filled foil balloons represents the amount of young people who have sadly taken their own life in the last decade. Each balloon, which represented a missed birthday, decorated the ceiling of Westfield White City coming together as a visitable art exhibition that looked as incredible as it sounded.

Real life, real installations with real impact.

A story this big and impactful deserves to rightly go everywhere that it has, and that’s a big testament to the amount of partners involved in a project of this scale: from blanket National media thanks to the talented team at Hope & Glory to Daytime TV with partnership at ITV, amongst others. This sort of campaign demonstrates the power of each sector of the creative industry working together as a force for good, a pleasant change from flogging products to consumers.

Alongside the incredible display was the groundwork, the work that makes sure this issue does start to change in the right direction, with a ‘CALM CARE kit’ being released, a suite of practical tools and resources designed to equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person.

The more work we do as an industry like this, the better we can make the world, bit by bit. I have a feeling this is one that we’re all going to be up against at the awards shows next year.

Greggs takes on Fashion Week

Fashion Week is a big moment for PR agencies and brands to ‘newsjack’. Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of iconic campaigns, and 2024 has already brought a Croissant Handbag takeover to the media, and this time, it’s the turn of Greggs, the budget bakery chain.

Greggs has unveiled a gold-plated jewellery collection that includes their iconic sausage roll as golden earrings, jammy heart biscuit necklaces, and a Greggs signet ring. I personally cannot wait to see all the Clapham boys donning it on TikTok saying: “Yaaaah, it’s a family heirloom, you see.”

The hero piece of the collection is a Greggs charm bracelet, featuring a range of products that Greggs offers its customers. The collection was created by British artist Dion Kitson, known for turning iconic British brands into jewellery, such as a golden Monster Munch ring. This campaign is the next iteration of Greggs taking the fashion world by storm, following its iconic Primark collaboration of late, Greggs is always looking for interesting and quirky ways for lovers of the brand to show their love. It releases 10 am this Friday (13th September) and I'm sure will be sold out almost instantly.

The Lime-thru Bakery

We Londoners love our bakeries and coffee shops, especially out East, where supporting your favourite little bakery feels like the hipster equivalent of following a football team. We’re die hard fans, donning the merch and gatekeeping our favourite spots - I personally can’t wait for the Football Factory remake centred around patisseries and coffee shops.

Lime Bike and Ready10 tapped into the bakery culture that’s sweeping London by launching the Lime-thru Bakery, a cycle friendly pop-up that celebrates east London’s bakery culture, after all the amount of Lime Bikes outside a spot tells you how popular it is with the locals.

Opening its doors in Shoredtich last week (where else) the Lime-thru Bakery allowed people to cycle up for their daily pastry and coffee, and it was a hit. Queues were constantly out the door and the campaign blew up across social thanks to partnerships with the ‘in the know’ London accounts Top Jaw and RHOC (Real Housewives of Clapton) the exact place where the target audience is.

Beetlejuice x Fanta

There’s something that hits me with a wave of nostalgia when I see brands and movies collaborating. It was the big thing when I was growing up, and it feels like we lost that magic (besides any phallic-looking popcorn boxes). When I saw Fanta collaborating with Beetlejuice in the return, after 36 years, of Michael Keaton’s iconic character, it caught my attention.

Getting Gen Z—or anyone else, for that matter—to pay attention to a movie, let alone actually go to the cinemas and pay to see it is an oft-discussed existential question for the entertainment industry, the response from Coca-Cola is that Fanta has launched a limited edition Beetlejuice flavours, with each one tied to a character from the film. Fanta Orange, for example, features Jenna Ortega’s Astrid Deetz, and Fanta Strawberry is tied to Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz. But the limited-edition flavour features a black-and-white-striped can, tailored to the main character’s signature style.

We know how wild the younger generations go for crazy flavoured drinks, just look at Prime. Which means I'm sure this collaboration is set up for success.