Creative Corner: Pringles' urn, Visit Oslo and Kim Cattrall brings the style

Pringles, a grumpy Norwegian, and Kim Cattrall walk into Creative Corner this week.

No, it’s not the start of a particularly niche joke; it’s this week’s trio of campaigns that defy convention. 

First up, to prove adding a little absurdity can go a long way, is Pringles that takes brand loyalty to the grave, quite literally, and then Visit Oslo who gives its miserable resident a musical makeover. And just when you thought the worlds of PR measurement and Sex and the City could never collide, Meltwater calls on Cattrall to prove that intelligence is always in style.

Pringles takes brand loyalty to the grave

I couldn’t resist putting this little gem in from Pringles.

With Halloween just around the corner, the next two weeks will see plenty of ghoulish stunts and packaging makeovers chasing a quick buck, but what I love about this one is that it’s not only genuinely rooted in a brand truth, but it caters for the brand’s, quite literal, die-hard fans.

Dubbed “Once You Drop”, the campaign takes Pringles “Once you pop, you can’t stop” to its macabre conclusion by offering one ‘lucky’ American fan a custom-made cremation urn shaped like the brand’s iconic can, plus $28,080 in cash- supposedly enough to keep them crunching for the next 200 years. Fans enter by signing a puntastic digital “Will and Taste-ament”, declaring their undying devotion to the stackable snack.

It’s gloriously daft, but there’s method in the madness. The idea not only riffs on the brand’s distinctive packaging but also a real-life story: Pringles can designer Fredric Baur was so attached to his creation that some of his ashes were buried in one after his death in 2008.

This darkly comic Halloween spectacle proves that loyalty can be eternal.

Visit Oslo gives its grumpiest resident a musical makeover

Back in 2024, Visit Oslo introduced us to grumpy resident and killjoy, Halfdan, as his brilliant, reverse-psychology monologue ‘Is it Even a City?’ depicting why Oslo wasn’t worth visiting attracted more than 25 million eyeballs and took home a fair few marketing gongs to boot. After a two-year hiatus, the tourism board has finally created a much-anticipated sequel, and I’m happy to report it’s as deliciously bonkers as the first. Because this time, it’s Halfdan the musical.

Titled It’s Totally Even a City, the satirical masterpiece sees Halfdan grumble his way through ridiculous skiing bankers commuting to work, as children commandeer parks with their sleds. With a dash of Christmas cheer and a hint of horror, the film takes the original’s deadpan formula and adds musical fantasy as Halfdan threatens to quit the city- only to be threatened with being burnt on a bonfire before he concedes he could try one more week.

The challenge for Visit Oslo and its agency NewsLab was to bring back a viral character without simply repeating the same joke in a winter coat. 

The musical does just that. There’s nothing quite like a miserable sod to put you in the mood for a Christmas break. Even a grump can carry a tune. Just don’t expect Halfdan to enjoy it.

Meltwater brings style with intelligence

I’m completing this week’s Creative Corner with two things I wouldn’t have ever expected to put together in the same sentence: Meltwater intelligence and Kim Cattrall. Why? Because the measurement giant has somehow convinced the Sex and the City star to celebrate its 25th anniversary and make the case for its media tracking software.

As unexpected as it may sound, the tie-up is not completely without merit. 

Cattrall is best known for playing the unapologetic publicist Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, and it is this persona that she channels in Meltwater’s Intelligence Is Always in Style campaign.

Set around two films, Cattrall sings the modern world virtues of intelligence tracking. In one, she is dashing from one meeting to another and exclaims: “Did you get the alert? The news just broke. The reaction will be all over social media within minutes, then it’ll be picked up by AI, and it’s everywhere,” she says.

And in another, back in her office: “How do I always know what’s going on? Simple. I have a source who is everywhere … Do you want to know my source? It’s Meltwater,” she says.

PR has always been seen as the poor cousin of marketing, and carving out budget to cover decent evaluation is often but a dream. Let’s hope that Cattrall sprinkles some financial stardust upon future briefs. To be honest, a fraction of her fee wouldn’t go amiss in the odd PR RFP.

That's it for this week's Creative Corner!

Remember, if you’ve seen something that’s caught your eye, or if you’ve been working on something you’re particularly proud of, please do get in touch via paul.lucas@fanclubpr.com. I’d love to hear about it.