Trending PR Campaigns
Badly in Love Rehabilitation Partnership
Japan’s Justice Ministry partnered with Netflix’s dating show Badly in Love, which features former delinquents and gang members, to promote the idea that people can change. The unusual collaboration used the show’s tattooed cast in campaign materials, but was cancelled after criticism that it trivialised or glorified crime.
Why it worked: A government U-turn on a pop-culture partnership created a clear policy-vs-public-decency conflict, offering journalists immediacy, authority, and controversy.
The lesson: Consider pitching a data-backed partnership that might plausibly spark backlash, then pre-package statements from both sides to fuel fast coverage.
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