Trending PR Campaigns
We-Consent: The Grandparents’ Hug Advert
As part of its We-Consent campaign, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre released a video showing grandparents hugging their grandchildren, with the message that not everyone wants a hug, even from someone they love. The attempt to make consent tangible through a familiar family moment became the story when critics said it unfairly cast grandparents as offenders; the centre later removed the video for review.
Why it worked: It hijacked a universally wholesome ritual and reframed it as boundary-crossing, triggering official pushback that made the controversy irresistible news.
The lesson: Consider reframing a sacred, everyday behaviour as a boundary or cost—then quantify or validate it—to spark debate and coverage.
Coverage over time
How this story spread across the media
| Publication | Headline | Date |
|---|---|---|
| rte.ie | Video on hugging consent taken down after criticism | Thursday 22nd October, 2026 |
| irishtimes.com | Advert showing grandparents hugging is taken down amid criticism – The Irish Times | Thursday 22nd October, 2026 |
| bbc.com | Irish government minister criticises rape crisis centre consent ad | Thursday 22nd October, 2026 |
| adnkronos.com | Irish backlash over rape advert 'attacking' grandparents | Thursday 22nd October, 2026 |
| dexerto.com | Ad telling grandparents to get consent to hug grandkids pulled after backlash - Dexerto | Thursday 22nd October, 2026 |
| ionainstitute.ie | Fury as advert warns grandparents not to hug grandkids without consent - The Iona Institute | Friday 23rd October, 2026 |
| foxnews.com | Irish politicians disavow ‘demeaning’ PSA warning grandparents not to hug family without asking consent | Friday 23rd October, 2026 |
| irishtimes.com | Grandparents were left very hurt by advertisement about hugging – The Irish Times | Friday 30th October, 2026 |