Creative Corner: Rightmove believes in Macclesfield FC, bibigo cleans up and Age Scotland makes comedy count

Happy Friday, readers.

FA Cup fever, dumplings and a few well-earned punchlines, this week’s Creative Corner is a gloriously mixed bag that focuses on three campaigns that tap into real lives.

From a non-league football fairytale born from a late-night property scroll, to chopsticks engineered for the doomscrolling generation and a comedy course giving over-fifties their moment in the spotlight. Step forward Rightmove and Macclesfield FC with a Chief Belief Officer; bibigo with ScrollSticks tackling the greasy-thumb dilemma head-on; and The Social Hub in partnership with Age Scotland and the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, proving that comedy doesn’t come with an expiry date.

Rightmove scores with Chief Belief Officer

In a canny move ahead of Macclesfield FC’s attempt to create history by slaying another Premier League giant in the FA Cup (spoiler: they fell agonisingly short thanks to an own goal), property website Rightmove appointed the non-league club’s inspirational owner, Rob Smethurst, as Chief Belief Officer.

Another make-believe PR C-Suite appointment, I hear you cry? Wrong. This one stands out not only for its impeccable editorial timing but because of its genuine backstory.

Far from a manufactured celebrity endorsement, it’s based on a sporting fairytale born out of the Rightmove platform. Back in 2020, Smethurst spotted a stadium listed on Rightmove and made an admittedly inebriated leap most of us wouldn’t dare to take.

A single, impulsive click didn’t just secure a property; it resurrected a dead football club and reignited a town. Since then, the phoenix-like rise of Macclesfield FC has become the ultimate proof that belief, backed by action, can make a dream a reality.

As Chief Belief Officer, Smethurst doesn't just play the role of fictional figurehead; he’s a genuine motivator-in-chief, translating his own massive leap of faith into practical encouragement for anyone hovering over the contact agent button.

Timed to go live as Macclesfield FC were enjoying their editorial moment in the sun, the campaign turned product function into emotion and successfully took Rightmove out of the traditional property pages and injected them straight into the sport, lifestyle and mainstream news.

To further quell the cries of C Suite appointment gimmickery, the initiative includes financial support for the club’s youth academy, ensuring that "belief" will continue long after the editorial ‘ink’ dries.

Dumpling giant, bibigo, cleans up diners social feeds

A quick scan of your average diner will tell you that phones have become as much of a utensil at the table as the knife and fork. However, etiquette (and I would say, common decency) aside, dinner time doomscrolling isn’t without its downsides. Some foods require two hands- and sticky thumbs a clean phone doth not make.

Fortunately, help is now, literally, at hand as Korean dumpling giant, bibigo, has created the antidote for sticky screens with the launch of ScrollSticks: a limited-edition, dual-ended chopstick designed for the ultimate multitaskers of the digital age.

Crafted as a playful evolution of traditional metal chopsticks, ScrollSticks feature a touchscreen tip on one end and a dumpling-delivering grip on the other; a tactile response to the "greasy thumb" dilemma.

This is not the first time Gen Z favourite, bibigo, has leant into phones and food. Previously, the K food brand created a "Dashboard Kitchen" in response to the TikTok trend of eating and reviewing food in cars.

How practical these ‘stunts’ are in reality is neither here nor there (surely the ends of the chopstick will get as messy as your fingers), but by acknowledging how people actually live, bibigo is creating a fandom that transcends its dumplings.

The old ones are the best ones

Thought I’d end this week’s creative corner with a little cockle warmer.

A stand-up with a stand-for, hotel come co-working, come community space, The Social Hub, has teamed up with Age Scotland and the Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF) to launch ‘The Old Ones Are the Best’: a search for Glasgow’s wittiest over-fifties with all proceeds supporting Age Scotland’s work tackling loneliness among older people.

Up to 16 first-time performers will be selected for a free, four-week comedy course led by comedian Viv Gee, culminating in a live showcase in April as part of GICF. And the need is no joke. 

Research from the charity reveals that around one in 10 older Scots experience chronic loneliness, while more than a third miss out on relaxing and fun activities. This campaign reframes later life not as a quiet fade-out, but as an open mic night waiting to happen.

A golden oldie in the making. Although I’m not sure over 50s will thank them for being classed as old just yet?!

(Lead image courtesy of the campaign/Twitter)

Well that wraps up Creative Corner this week!

As always, if you're working on something that deserves the spotlight, or you've seen a campaign worth sharing, drop us a line: paul.lucas@fanclubpr.com