All Hail Royal Baby – Prince of PR Opportunities

When Prince William was born, we had three TV channels and no internet. Charles and Diana posed with the baby on the steps of the hospital and we were treated to photos of the young heir, just as we saw this week with Prince George.

This time round, we have Facebook, Twitter, email, blogs, rolling news channels, YouTube and (thank goodness) Photoshop. The abundance of outlets has led to thousands of humorous items – many of which have been fuelled by the fact that rolling news has been reporting not much more than “there is no news yet” for a couple of days.

PR is where the richest humour lies

While Photoshopped pics of William and Kate on the balcony, a lá Michael Jackson, are funny, and while the jokes have been great, I’ve found the best entertainment in my inbox, with an endless stream of emails from PR companies, looking to capitalise on royal babymania.

Here’s a selection of some of the great opportunistic press releases I’ve been receiving. Good work by these PRs for capitalising on a newsworthy event, but some of the royal baby links are rather tenuous and comical.

Bishop’s Move wrote a blog post about moving with a baby, suggesting, “Will and Kate will soon have that once in a lifetime experience of taking their first child home for the very first time.”

Good Year was worried about that, because with rain starting to fall, William and Kate were at risk of aquaplaning on the way home. Good Year’s Michelle Fisher was quoted in a press release thus, “Today’s weather has caused havoc in many areas across the country and, after the royal arrival; we can turn our thoughts to new parents and their first journey home in the car.”

A sensible concern, I think you will agree, but it’s unlikely that William, in his Range Rover in central London, will get up enough speed to run the royal baby off the road.

And in other Royal Baby news…

The Sleep Council: “As Britain welcomes a new baby prince, The Sleep Council offers some timely tips on ‘sleep survival’ for new mums all over the country.”

Chocolatier Prestat: “The delicious Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffles, presented in a fittingly small, blue box, provide a wonderful way to mark the occasion and enjoy a ‘royal treat’.”

Save The Children (with a nice idea): “We have a selection of photographs from around the world of babies born on the same day as the royal baby, July 22nd 2013.”

Blackrock investment managers: “The new royal baby will be third in line to the throne and unlikely to have many of the financial worries that most in the UK face. Many babies born today will need to have savings started for them as early as possible and to understand the value of money.”

Twinings: “To mark the arrival of the Prince of Cambridge, Twinings has released a limited edition tea gift. Whether you’re celebrating the birth of the royal heir or a special delivery of your own.”

Moonpig: “Every new baby feels like royalty to every new parent, so we have designed a brand new range of royal baby themed cards.”

For your efforts, we salute you one and all. And if you are looking for some Royal Baby memorabilia, Emma Bridgewater says its royal baby mug will be out soon.