2024 SUMMARY: PR

2024 through the eyes of Katarzyna Tyska

Interview published at the aboutMarketing editorial.

The most interesting campaigns and activities of brands and companies in PR in 2024

What particularly caught my attention this year were campaigns dedicated to men, their physical and mental health. Emphasizing masculinity, in which there is room for emotions, tears, weakness, for normality and being a man, is very important in dispelling the harmful macho stereotype.

Movember has already entered the calendar of many brands for good, and here there have been many interesting initiatives, including the Plus brand’s “Balls Challenge” campaign, which had a dual purpose – to encourage men to be physically active and for preventive health care – testicular self-examination. In a funny roll published on the Plus brand profile, volleyball player Jakub Kochanowski encourages: “Examine your balls!”, thus referring to the idea of Movember and nominating other fellow volleyball players to take up the ball bouncing challenge.

Certainly an extremely meaningful and relevant campaign is the Coalition Against Loneliness, initiated by Joanna Przetakiewicz and the Era of New Women social movement. As part of the campaign, the organizers focused on education about men’s mental health. The campaign’s launch was announced on June 11 at an unusual “fashion show” to which media representatives, influencers and public figures were invited. To everyone’s surprise, this show turned out to be a performance, during which 12 men, one by one, fell into an abyss symbolizing suicidal death. Why 12 men? Statistics show that every day in Poland 15 people commit suicide, and as many as 12 of them are men! Famous people and influencers were involved in promoting the message about men’s mental health and the support they need. The campaign also had the support of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Polish Academy of Sciences and SWPS University.

The third campaign that caught my attention was one implemented in the UK. It focused on the problem of the short paternity leave available to men in the UK, only two weeks long. The organizers, the Dad Shift group, organized a street action calling for change, and also launched a website to express support for their actions. The activists also drafted an open letter to the prime minister, admonishing changes in paternity leave, in which, compared to other European countries, the UK ranks lowest. An important element of the campaign was a performance in which activists attached life-size dolls of babies to well-known London statues, such as this one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thierry Henry.

Katarzyna Tyska
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