Reebok’s AI is out for kicks, Samsung crunches Apple, Homebase OOH finds the sun, and Downing Street’s election omnishambles

Reebok’s AI tool is out for kicks

Ask any marketing pro who has ever run a UGC campaign: getting people to create (good) content for you is a tall ask. Which is why you Need to Know about Reebok’s latest campaign, where Instagram users create bespoke digital sneakers from their photos using AI. 

Reebok Impact has the potential to create a wealth of UGC for the brand, with the heavy lifting that usually stifles these campaigns done by AI. It screams opportunity to have celeb collabs, event experiences and more. But, what is particularly novel is that Reebok offers access to these bespoke digital creations on other platforms, for example games like Robolox, Fortnight and the hotly anticipated, Open.

But while we love this Reebok X Futureverse partnership, its coolness gets a slight downgrade via its cheesy strapline: “connecting the soul to the sole”. Got to have something constructive in that wash up report, right?

Samsung Crushes Apple

Unless you’ve lived under a rock, you’ll know Apple’s had a shocker with its recent new iPad ad. The video saw objects like books, musical instruments and more being crushed, illustrating how creativity has been compressed into the latest device. The backlash centres around it being a metaphor for crushing creativity, but mostly it’s pretty dull and lacks originality – marketing budgets that size deserve better.

Enter, Samsung, the hero we neither expected nor knew we needed. The tech giant snapped back with its own film – a take down that celebrates creatives. 

There was hot debate at Make Honey about whether non-marketing folks care about this kind of thing. Whatever the answer, you Need to Know: 

1. A “bad” ad made serious headlines. Apple got significantly more coverage for its iPad with this divisive piece of comms, and while there’s probably a marketing director at the top of the chain feeling the heat, the ad did its job of bringing mass awareness to the product and brand. Could Apple use this publicity to stretch the launch even further? Could it create an experiential crush activation, or do a non-branded guerrilla influencer campaign to keep this “negative” press rolling. We can’t see it hurting their numbers. 
   
2. If a brand like Samsung can move at speed, so can you. The content Samsung created was polished video, turned around quickly and delivered with a mic drop. Someone at Samsung took a leap, likely bypassing the usually stifling rounds of approvals to deliver some timely, punchy content. We love to see it.

Homebase OOH finds sun in every corner

Just in time for the UK sun to shine, Homebase delivered a simple but effective out-of-home campaign showing which plants thrive in your garden depending on the direction it faces. We love the simple but impactful design of the billboards and how it creates an experience which pushes you to purchase – no mean feat for OOH. 

It’s an experiential activation without the price tag, so we’d now love to see some marketing pounds spent to take this campaign further. Could AR allow people to engage in their own gardens, using their phones to show how the plants would actually look? A simple QR code to purchase seeds could drive quick conversion? Or some IRL experiential moments, like giving away plants that thrive in north facing areas at the Cutty Sark (which faces north). This campaign has the opportunity to grow, both literally and figuratively – we hope to see more of it soon.

Co-Op Live Arena PR Dumpster Fire

When someone mentions Co-op, the first things that probably come to mind are retail stores and funeral directors, probably not live music, angry musicians, or a PR dumpster fire. But this is exactly what the Co-op Live Arena has brought down upon the brand.

It started with a simple mission: to create the largest sustainable arena in the UK. But, after the cancellation of Peter Kay’s tour leg, a Take That gig and a show featuring Rick Astley, cracks began to show, and criticism quickly spread. Whilst Manchester darlings, Elbow, finally lifted the curtain on the venue last week, the Arena was plagued by plummeting air conditioning units, postponed shows and resignations. 

To ice this nightmare cake, if there’s one thing a brand should not do, it’s attack their grassroots community. But that is exactly what former Co-op Arena executive director, Gary Roden, did when he made disparaging comments about independent music venues. Music Venue Trust (MVT) labelled Roden’s remarks “disrespectful and disingenuous”. Without even getting into the economics of running a successful venue, the under fire executive was ill advised and unprepared when facing the media. The PR team should have advised more strongly. 

Unfortunately, no one told Co-op Live Arena this, and MVT hit back with the full force of the grassroots community, musicians and venues alike. We are sure in a few months time, all will be forgotten (if not forgiven), but the legacy of PR fan hitters will circle the Co-op brand for many years. Today, the venue is tagged Manchester’s Fyre Festival, a label any clued-up fan knows is a hard thing to come back from. It shows no matter how seemingly pure the start, a PR nightmare can befall any brand and can take on a life of its own without proper planning.

Downing Street’s Election Omnishambles

And finally, the only being to escape ridicule at the Downing Street election announcement on Wednesday was Lectern Man (oh, and Larry, the Number 10 cat) after prime minister Rishi Sunak sparked a flood of Things Can Only Get Wetter memes on social platforms and mainstream news outlets. As the rain-soaked prime minister tried to raise his earnest words above D:Ream’s 1996 Labour anthem, the country held its breath and commentators struggled to keep a straight face. Number 10: you have a multi-million pound media room, and countless umbrellas, what were you thinking?

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