Contains PR ideas right up there with “Monkey Tennis”, “Arm Wrestling With Chas ‘n Dave” and “Alan Attack”)…
While England and Scotland were busy knocking seven bells out of each other on the pitch, a far more civilised battle unfolded off it – a national anthem sing-off between Tom Walker and Pixie Lott.
Yes, really. Hosted at a Holiday Inn, no less.
Because nothing says high-stakes national pride like a free continental breakfast and a live rendition of Flower of Scotland.
Walker belted out Scotland’s anthem with the kind of passion usually reserved for late-night kebab queues. Pixie Lott countered with God Save the King, valiantly trying to make a fairly downbeat tune sound like an X Factor winner’s single.
The PR play? Genius.
Low risk, high reward.
Emotive, musical patriotism without the shouting.
And not a single influencer pretending they watch rugby.
It even got me thinking:
clicks dictaphone Partridge style
With Thomas Tuchel now in charge of England football, maybe we should bin the penalties and settle future England–Scotland clashes with a karaoke-off?
Picture the scene:
Tuchel doing a moody spoken-word version of Jerusalem.
Steve Clarke with a mic drop after Loch Lomond.
Extra time replaced with an encore.
All in all, a reminder that sometimes the smartest PR isn’t the loudest—just the one that gets the mood right (and throws in a pop star or two for good measure).
Don’t dismiss this, remember “nobody had heard of Oxford before Inspector Morse”.