Friday 20 February 2026: PR & Marketing News Round‑Up | Fashion Play, Collectibles & Emotional Storytelling
Visible PR is back with this week’s Friday PR & Marketing News Round-Up. From McDonald’s launching retro trading cards, a Lidl x London Fashion Week activation, to tender tributes and cultural conversation, the spotlight remains on brands leaning into moments that matter and finding creative ways to spark real engagement. This week’s stories show how physical interaction, emotional nuance and everyday relevance are shaping the conversations that brands want to be part of.
Read on for our picks of the week…
Lidl Launches Viral Trolley Bag for London Fashion Week
Never one to shy away from an opportunity to stand out, Lidl has dropped a limited-edition ‘fashion trolley bag’ to coincide with London Fashion Week, blending its grocery heritage with a tongue-in-cheek fashion statement. The bag is positioned as a stylish carry-all that nods to both high fashion and affordable retail culture, creating buzz around the supermarket’s presence in a space associated with luxury brands.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Having already caused a huge buzz on social media, this clever move shows how a brand known for everyday utility can playfully insert itself into a cultural moment usually reserved for elite labels. By leaning into irony without undercutting value, Lidl generates earned conversation and social sharing while broadening associations beyond groceries and into lifestyle and relevance.
McDonald’s Launches Retro-Style Trading Card Game
Calling all retro trading card collectors! This week, McDonald’s announced a new trading card game that taps into nostalgia and collectability, turning menu icons, flavours and brand moments into a physical, interactive experience. The game is designed to appeal to both young fans and adults who grew up with trading card culture.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: The trading card craze has evolved into a powerful brand tool, with franchises like Pokémon and Disney Lorcana proving how physical collectibles can sustain long-term demand and fandom. This week Logan Paul sold an ultra‑rare Pokemon card, auctioning it for a record-breaking $16.5 million, pushing trading cards even deeper into mainstream culture, reinforcing their status as social currency. Brands leaning into physical collectibles create new touchpoints beyond screens and feeds, with unique trading cards offering a shareable moment that can fuel social conversation, user-generated content and extended engagement.
Culture Conversation: The ‘Yearning’ Craze
As the much-anticipated Wuthering Heights hits cinema screens this week, and drives pages of media conversation, a cultural essay of note digs into yearning as an emotional experience in modern relationships. The piece explores linking language, longing and intimacy in ways that resonate across personal and social discourse, and has gained traction for its reflective tone and relatability, sparking debates online about vulnerability and connection.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Notable movie moments like Wuthering Heights will without fail drive cultural narratives around emotion and human connection. What they also do is present strong grounds for brands looking to align with real experiences. As audiences increasingly value authenticity and emotional relatability, PR that leans into recognised cultural vocabulary, like yearning, can anchor campaigns in the language that people already use to make sense of their lives.
Milka Celebrates LaLiga With A Tender Tribute
As an official sponsor of one of the world’s most followed football championships, Milka has launched a campaign celebrating LaLiga football with a more emotional tone than most sport sponsorship activations. Instead of action shots or star players chomping on choc, the creative focuses on tenderness, connection and the shared love of the game, positioning the brand as a supportive fan rather than a loud sponsor.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Sport partnerships are some of the most lucrative in the business. Most notably, those that go beyond clichés and tap into emotional storytelling can build deeper connections with the sports fandom. As a household name, Milka’s heart-felt approach shows that even in high-energy categories, there’s space for softer, human-first campaigns that resonate on culture and emotion rather than just the sport itself.
Dove’s ‘R/eal Reviews’ Leverages Consumer Feedback from Reddit
Reddit is really having its moment in 2026, continuing to grow as a destination for real, unfiltered voices as audiences seek authenticity amid a world of polished social content and rising AI influence. This week, Dove launched ‘R/eal Reviews’, a transparency-focused campaign that highlights real product reviews sourced directly from Reddit’s beauty communities, including the negative ones. The global brand leaned into Reddit’s reputation for candid, passionate product discussion to celebrate honesty and authenticity as part of its long-running Real Beauty platform.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Dove has nailed credibility-led storytelling in this campaign. It isn’t the first time we’ve seen a brand embrace negative feedback, but by embracing honest opinion rather than curating perfection, Dove builds trust and cultural relevance in a space where audiences are increasingly sceptical of branded messaging. It also shows the growing PR value of community platforms like Reddit, where authenticity is the currency and conversation itself becomes creative.
Final Thoughts
This week’s stories show that the campaigns and moments that resonate most are those that find the right intersections between culture, emotion and interaction. Whether it’s Lidl turning a trolley bag into a fashion statement, McDonald’s tapping into the trading card craze, Dove demonstrating authenticity via community platforms or sport and emotion finding common ground, the smartest work this week speaks human first, brand second.
PR that wins in 2026 is about insight tied to behaviour, emotional nuance and moments that audiences can relate to.
Want to remain ahead of the curve and carve your brand into culture? Get in touch with us today! hello@visiblepr.co.uk