Every Little Helps
We don’t need Prunella Scales to tell us that every little helps. The star of the Tesco adverts would have spotted something distinctly faulty outside one of their supermarkets this week. Shoppers queuing at a store cash-machine were delighted to find themselves receiving TWICE the amount they asked for! It really was ‘buy one get one free’, and the best news is that they get to keep it, as Tesco have announced that they will not be recouping the booty.
I was discussing cash recently at none other than Clarence House. Courtesy of Prince Charles and Business in the Community, I found myself standing in His Royal Highness’s back garden, chatting to comedian Omid Djalili about Make Your Mark with a Tenner. Expressing a keen interest, Omid told me that he was about to begin his stint at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, playing Fagin in Lionel Bart’s classic musical, Oliver! I hope to find a way to involve him in next year’s challenge. He’s currently reviewing the situation.
You’ve got to hand it to TalkTalk, they know how to spot a cunnning publicity stunt. At a time when many of us are counting the pennies, they have hired a bunch of former PICKPOCKETS to take part in their latest scheme. The artful dodgers are sneaking up behind unsuspectingLondoners and putting cash INTO their pockets. Imagine the scene back at home when the penny-pinching husband pleads poverty, only for his other half to find a crisp twenty pound note nestling in his trousers.
Julian Metcalfe knows his Pitta Pockets (sorry). As the founder of leading food chain Pret a Manger, he doesn’t usually believe in additives. So imagine his surprise when cheeky businessman Paul McCrudden approached him this month CHARGING him for the time spent in his sandwich shop! Paul’s point is that his very prescence in the sarnie-centre is valuable to the retailer and that Pret should pay up. Displaying both humour and sportsmanship, Julian did just that, even pointing out that his new-found supplier had omitted to charge him for food scoffed on the premises, and adding an extra twenty two pounds for good measure.
All of which makes me wonder just how much of a malfunction really occurred at Tesco this week. For a couple of thousand pounds, wouldn’t you be interested in the acres of news coverage generated by a cash machine cock-up? In a funny way, now that we know they’re letting them keep the cash, aren’t we now fonder of Tesco as a result? Our attention is more and more valuable. Is it any wonder that companies are having to go to even greater lengths to invent things which are, quite literally, REMARK-ABLE. And isn’t it wonderful when fun-lovers engage with a big brand and the brand engages right back.
