The news that a woman was sent home from work without pay for refusing to wear high heels was followed by complete uproar from the UK public. Men and women throwing themselves into the debate on whether it should still be legal to make women wear heels to work (because currently it is!).

Yes, that’s not very funny we hear you say; it’s an important discussion.

We agree, it is. But, we quickly noticed it was the same arguments being made everywhere which got boring very fast until, with fleet of foot, Stylist came along and did something a bit different.

The publication asked their male staff to wear heels for a day and filmed their attempts at basic tasks, like going down stairs or walking along a cobbled path. The shoe was on the other foot, literally! The video is brilliant and immediately did the rounds on Facebook and Twitter.

Hat tip to Stylist for bringing the debate to life in a creative and hilarious way. We’ve fallen head over heels with your approach!

That’s it, it’s official. Queen Elizabeth is now the longest reigning monarch. At 5:30 BST on 9th September 2015, our Queen will have reigned over Britain for 63 years, 7 months, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes. She surpasses the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

Across the nation (well, aside from republicans), there is much love for our Queen and big brands make the most of that. Here are some clever PR examples of brands who have capitalised on our monarch’s popular profile.

Posh nosh: Kelloggs Queen Flakes

• Kellogg’s: For this recent milestone, the Kellogg’s created a culinary masterpiece fit for a Queen, featuring edible diamonds and pearls. One must have a good brekkie before starting the day!
• Peppa Pig: The Queen joined Peppa Pig to jump in muddy puddles in a special Jubilee episode
• Notonthehighstreet: To celebrate Mother’s Day Notonthehighstreet commissioned a photo of the Queen (well a lookalike) to take a selfie. We especially like the corgi stickers on her phone – nice touch!
• The Body Shop: With more lookalikes, The Body Shop created this clever little video with their version of what happens at Buckingham Palace on the morning of Mother’s Day
• Airbnb: Another brand to go down the lookalike route, timing a stunt around the Queen and Prince Philip’s royal visit to Berlin earlier in the year
• London 2012 Olympics: No lookalike for this, the Queen herself was part of in a James Bond themed film during the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It was reported that “delighted to be asked to be involved in something so exceptional”

via GIPHY

This is just my favourite selection of PR stunts, do you have any favourites to add to the mix?

Media stunts are very much hit or miss. With the reaction to Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest stunt being very much divided, here are two opposing views.  

For Austin it was a hit

 Sacha Baron Cohen’s PR perfection at the Oscars saw his upcoming film ‘The Dictator’ promoted in every major news outlet across the world. The cost? A suit, an urn and ‘Kim Jong Il’s ashes’.

Showing up at the Oscars in full costume as his latest creation, General Aladeen ‘dictator of the Republic of Wadiya’, Cohen proceeded to empty the ashes of Jong Il over the red carpet and interviewer Ryan Seacrest.

This was perfect in every way. No filmgoer remotely familiar with Cohen’s previous work or even the premise of his latest film is going to decide not to see The Dictator because of the stunt. Instead, the whole world now knows about its release and will be reminded of his antics at the Oscars when it is released.

As for the venue, it too, could not have been better. In an our age of austerity there is something about an over-the-top awards ceremony that takes itself seriously, rewarding grossly overpaid actors, writers and directors (of such films as the Artist because it’s silent and therefore presumably ‘quirky’), which makes you glad a 6ft-3in British Cohen turns up, without taking himself, or the death of a tyrant, remotely seriously to add some light relief.

 Charlotte was unimpressed

 I’m with Donald Trump on this one; Sacha Baron Cohen’s stunt at the Oscars was ridiculous and disrespectful. It doesn’t help that I dislike the guy, but what annoys me the most is that a silly stunt like this deflected all the media attention away from the actual talent at the awards.

There’s a time and a place for stunts and, for me, doing it at a classy awards ceremony was totally inappropriate. It may have created chatter during the awards and a few photos in the papers the next day, but by the time his latest film is released, will people remember this? Even if they do remember, will it just be because it was so crude and crass? Any attention is not always good attention. I certainly will not be going to see the film.

The verdict

So was it a success? At Firefly, we remain unsure – but we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on the official box office figures on May 11^th, when ‘The Dictator’ is released,  to see what they have to say about this divisive and controversial stunt.