It’s time for our monthly PR winners and losers review, where we applaud those who pulled off a fresh PR masterstroke and those who have had a PR stinker.
By Eve Ellis*
Staying Fresh
Ryanair turns Elon Musk X battle into a sales winner
Budget airline Ryanair saw a reported 2-3% increase in sales just days after a fiery exchange on X between its CEO, Michael O’Leary, and Elon Musk.
The clash started after O’Leary dismissed Musk’s proposal to introduce Starlink powered in-flight Wi-Fi, leading Musk to label the CEO an “insufferable idiot”. O’Leary highlighted the £250 million installation cost and fuel expense increases compared to only 5% of passengers potentially paying for the service.
Rather than damaging the brand, Ryanair exploited the spat with typical sarcasm, posting a series of adverts advertising its cheap seats and containing pointed barbs at Musk. Very few brands other than Ryanair could have pulled this off, but it’s a sign of how well O’Leary and team know the market and what customers want.
Don’t thank us, thank that big “IDIOT” @elonmusk 👀
Sale now on👇https://t.co/0c6IvsKyyB pic.twitter.com/JAxRNzaYTa
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 20, 2026
Oxfam’s ‘Pie Society’ stunt serves inequality on a plate
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of a wealth tax, the creativity and strategic thinking that went into this stunt from Oxfam has to be applauded.
While the super-rich gathered in Davos, Oxfam hosted a one-day pop-up in London, where the humble ‘People’s Pie and Mash’ came with a twist. For most people, the meal price was £6, but for the wealthiest the ‘Upper Crust Special’ cost £67m. The shock pricing was designed to help people visualise what a 2% tax on assets over £10 million could mean in real terms, potentially raising £24 billion annually and helping poorer people in society meet the rising cost of living.
The stunt was backed up with the key message that “it’s time everyone got a fair slice of the economic pie.” With this bold and decisive jab at the government and super wealthy, Oxfam were able to make something complex into a tangible, shareable and undeniably memorable piece of PR.
Mark Carney’s Davos speech plots new vision for international relations
Staying with Davos, Mark Carney’s pitch to assembled world leaders and media at the World Economic Forum provided a masterclass in strategic positioning and it certainly got our Freshfield team talking.
How could leaders use Davos to create hope amid the global uncertainty (Trump, Greenland, Venezuela, Ukraine) that foreshadowed the event? Rather than offering generic optimism, the Canadian prime minister opted to frame volatility itself as the defining condition of the current international system and positioned Canada as unusually well suited to navigate it.
Carney peppered the speech with memorable and repeatable phrases (“nostalgia is not a strategy” and “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu”). Using his experience as an economist, he spoke the language of markets (risk, resilience, capital), while grounding his argument in values that resonate politically – democratic stability, rule of law, and long-term stewardship. The result? Canada was presented not simply as open for business, but as a reliable partner for a fractured world seeking trusted supply chains, clean growth, and institutional continuity.
Gone Stale
The Beckhams hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons
It’s been hard to open any social media without an influx of posts and memes about the Beckham family rift which came after eldest son Brooklyn publicly criticised his parents in a six-page Instagram post, accusing them of being controlling, manipulative and trying “endlessly to ruin” his marriage.
What should’ve been private became a major PR crisis with predictions that Brand Beckham, particularly David, could lose out on tens of millions in brand partnerships and future collaborations.
So much to unpack from a PR perspective with this one. Was Brooklyn’s outburst out of touch or was he seizing the narrative before the media could speculate or his parents could spin it? Should Sir David and Lady Victoria have responded more formally to their son’s allegations? Was David’s soft acknowledgement of the situation with his “children make mistakes” comments the better way to handle it?
The biggest question of all – how did a family so masterful at controlling their image allow this happen? Yes, it’s a family matter, but the rumours had been rumbling online and in the media for some time. For me, the saga is a key reminder for brands that when narratives aren’t managed, they multiply.
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Matt Damon pulls back the curtain on Netflix’s audience attention strategy
Netflix landed in slightly uncomfortable territory this month after comments from Matt Damon reignited debate around how streaming giants keep us watching.
It comes after the release of ‘The Rip’, currently the most watched film on Netflix. Speaking on a podcast, Damon suggested that films on the platform are shaped around audiences’ short attention spans, with pressure to simplify narratives, front load the action scenes and repeatedly explain the plot.
While the approach reflects Netflix’s access to audience data, the remarks run the risk of reinforcing the long-lived critique of streaming platforms prioritising retention over creativity. More damaging still is the assumption that films should be “dumbed down a little” for audiences to understand.
Damon would have known his honest comments on his collaboration with Netflix would create the headlines that would promote the film and it hasn’t exactly harmed Netflix in the short term.
Netflix hasn’t formally responded to Damon’s comments, and he may even of had their blessing. However, it’s a reminder that details of a closely guarded strategy being released in this way have the potential to become a reputation liability, even when it works.
*On Freshfield work experience
