7 Of The Most Uplifting PR Campaigns To Emerge During Lockdown

With 2020 being one of the most unbelievable years yet, there isn’t much that can leave us shocked anymore. Let me just recap a little bit for you, just in case you forgot how bad it really got… Australia had bush fires that would pretty much wipe out the whole the UK’s population if it had happened here, Prince Harry decided he’d had enough of the royal family so left for Canada, we ended up in a worldwide pandemic that apparently all started from people eating bats, people went nuts for bog roll and hand sanitiser, our own Prime Minister ended up catching coronavirus, the world went into riots and protests to support the Black Lives Matter campaign and the Madeline McCann case has been re-opened and we might finally know what happened to her… no doubt I have missed something out but lets just leave it there for now shall we?

Anyway, the point I was trying to get at is that we have had so many sad and depressing moments throughout this year so for this insight blog, I wanted to talk about some of the most uplifting PR campaigns we have seen, to hopefully help people realise that not everything is bad in the world and hopefully we are finally at the start of the end and there is a little glimmer of light at the end of the 2020 tunnel of doom. So, let’s get into it…

1.Marcus Rashford raised funds for free school meals

The government claimed that the free school meals scheme wouldn’t run throughout the school holidays, so footballer Marcus Rashford wrote a heartfelt plea to the government to make a U-turn on the decision in a bid to help those suffering in poverty as the coronavirus pandemic has had a really devastating impact on household food security. Not only did he raise awareness of the current poverty we are facing in the UK, he raised £20m to supply three million meals to vulnerable people while working during lockdown with a charity called FareShare UK and his campaigning successfully lead to the government’s decision being U-turned so children don’t go hungry during the school holidays. I say that deserves a round of applause!

Have a read of his open letter to parliament here:

2.Emily Crisps ad campaign

Now this one did make me laugh. Emily Crisps put out their first poster campaign during lockdown, and of course this isn’t ideal when no one is out to see it. So cleverly, they added to the poster words that read, ‘Our first ever poster, seen by a runner and one pigeon. Typical.' Despite this being true, it didn’t stop the poster making its way to the media and although people might not have seen it in person, they still saw the ad and everyone was talking about it, what a great way to get your poster noticed during lockdown!

3.Brands supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign

With the death of George Floyd laying heavy on people’s minds, it was time to take a stand against racism. Not only did people do that by protesting across the world, but brands also lent their support to the Black Lives Matter movement by posting across social media and making changes across their brands such as logo and slogan changes. For example, popular sports brand Nike changed their slogan from ‘Just Do It’ to ‘For once, Just Don’t Do It’ to help encourage their followers to face the racial problems that the world has and make a stand rather than turn a blind eye. They also supported the campaign with a video that they posted on their social channels to their 8.2 million followers. Following this, Nike competitor Adidas unexpectedly retweeted the video with the caption, ‘Together is how we move forward. Together is how we make change.’ Showing all of us everywhere, that supporting and standing together, even with your rivals, will help make the world a better place.

4.Joe Wicks – The nation’s PE classes

Just as the world went into lockdown and many people up and down the country was furloughed, Joe Wicks decided to live stream his very own fitness PE classes that all the kids could take part in whilst off from school. They started everyday a 9am and soon enough, the whole world had joined in. And it wasn’t just kids either, adults and even grand parents got involved too. Joe Wicks really brought our nation together during a depressing time and a little bit of exercise can help boost your mood, so it really kept spirits high.

5.Brands giving away their secret recipes

Everyone was missing their favourite fast food restaurants whilst in lockdown and some even tried to attempt to make their own at home. Lucky enough for them, brands could see the struggle people were having, so decided to share some of their best kept recipes so everyone could have a proper go at making their own from home. Brands that shared their secrets include; McDonald’s who revealed how to make the sausage and egg McMuffin, Ben & Jerry’s show us how to make their cookie dough, Ikea gave us the secret to their Swedish meatballs and Wagamama’s revealed their Katsu Curry recipe.

6.Ed Sheeran pays staff during coronavirus

Now during the pandemic, we have seen numerous companies go bust and thousands of people furloughed or even made redundant. For the staff of our favourite ginger-haired pop singer Ed Sheeran though, it was a different story. Instead of taking advantage of the government furlough scheme, he refused to furlough his staff and continued to pay 100% wages to those who worked at London’s Bertie Blossoms, which he part owns. I mean lets be honest, he can afford it!

7.Captain Tom Moore raise money for NHS

Now there is one thing that we all should be thankful for during this pandemic and that is the NHS and the people working on the front line risking their lives everyday to save us. I’m sure you remember the Thursday nights at 8pm where we would all stand on our doorsteps and clap for our carers, but one thing that stands out more than anything is the money that was raised by 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore who decided to do 100 laps of his garden with his Zimmer Frame (which many my age cant be bothered to do might I add) in a bid to raise money for the NHS. He soon became the nations favourite and he went on to raise more than £32million which is absolutely amazing!