UK's Branston Pickle brings space-exploring Branson back to earth with a bump

Richard Branson is a master of the brand stunt but this time he was upstaged by a humble little pickle, says Andy Rice.

UK billionaire Richard Branson made it into space aboard Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity on Sunday, beating fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos to the punch.

"This is a dream turned reality" he declared on Twitter after landing safely back on Planet Earth.

Amid the glory however, a well-loved pickle brand in his home country took a bit of a side swipe at Branson's achievement.

There are no words to describe the feeling. This is space travel. This is a dream turned reality https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX @VirginGalactic #Unity22 pic.twitter.com/moDvnFfXri

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 12, 2021

Branston Pickle uses the hashtag #BranstonNotBranson to distinguish itself from the Virgin Group entrepreneur.

In an online ad billed as a public service announcement Branston proclaimed:

"For years now every time a certain ginger billionaire does something bonkers we, an innocent pickle, bear the brunt of the abuse online."

"We don't want to go to space. We want to stay here on earth, where the sandwiches are", ends the ad.

It's a lovely, humorous response to the Richard Branson publicity machine comments branding and advertising expert Andy Rice.

Not any old pickle will do when enjoying a traditional ploughman's lunch, he says.

Everybody knows that the pickle that should be there is a Branston pickle! Branston Pickles is a long-established brand, in fact it's celebrating its centenary next year.

Andy Rice, Branding and advertising expert

Branson is a master of the brand stunt but this time he was upstaged by a humble little pickle!

Andy Rice, Branding and advertising expert

Listen to Rice's ad critiques on The Money Show's 'Heroes and Zeros' slot:

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