LONDON -- Everyone loves an underdog who gets wronged by a big corporation, then stands up and makes their voice heard.
Okay, so not all of the people below were wronged, exactly -- in fact a couple of them are massive chancers and one or two are basically just genius trolls -- but they all deserve credit for different reasons.
1. The outraged bacon-lover who had strong words for Tesco regarding his missing rasher.
On opening his seven-rasher pack of bacon, Ben Roberts was horrified to discover there were in fact only six rashers inside. He went straight to Tesco's Facebook page to express his disappointment, which led to the following (fairly epic) response from Tesco.
WHAT THEY WON: We don't know exactly, but Tesco mentioned a full refund and suggested the supplier might also be in touch (implying Roberts may have been further compensated with additional bacon).
2. The guy who started a clever spat between rival phone companies.
I started a pizza war between @O2 and @ThreeUK. Will discuss hashtag hijacking in a blog post tomorrow. Spoiler: I'm going to get fat.— Dan May (@dpmay) August 3, 2015
It's one thing to complain to a company, but it's a whole other thing to play two different companies off against each other. Dan May is a bit of an expert at this; after O2 put out an offer for free pizzas on Twitter and May failed to get anywhere, he threatened to join rival phone network Three. Three then took the opportunity to send May free pizza in an effort to prize him away, prompting O2 to go one better and offer May free pizza for a whole year.
.@O2 I hope this isn't a cruel Monday joke, especially as @ThreeUK delivered big time! #waggytails #makeitright pic.twitter.com/mE90KbuzT5— Dan May (@dpmay) August 3, 2015
@dpmay No joke, check your DM! Free pizza for the rest of the year #waggytails— O2 in the UK (@O2) August 3, 2015
WHAT THEY WON: Initially May won four free pizzas and four tubs of ice cream (from Three), and then he won a YEAR'S SUPPLY of pizza from O2. Not bad for a day's work.
3. The man who complained to Morrisons about his crooked bread.
David Walker achieved Facebook fame after he wrote a hilarious rant on Morrison's Facebook page, complaining about a wonky loaf of bread he'd bought from the supermarket. (To be fair to Morrisons, their response was almost as good as Walker's initial post.)
WHAT THEY WON: Two fresh loaves of Morrisons' finest bread.
4. The guy who complained about a rogue biscuit in his packet of chocolate digestives.
Continuing the trend of epic supermarket Facebook complaints was Darryl Ó Raghallaigh, who gave Aldi a piece of his mind after finding a distinctly plain-looking biscuit in his packet of Chocolate Digestives. Aldi responded by addressing both the misplaced biscuit issue AND the fact that Ó Raghallaigh said he owned a bag of Tesco-bought sugar (an issue they were clearly keen to rectify).
WHAT THEY WON: Aldi were good to their word, and Ó Raghallaigh received a brand new packet of digestives and Aldi's finest bag of granulated sugar.
5. The Redditor on the receiving end of this tragic sandwich.
Reddit user Spambox shared a photo of the wildly disappointing bacon and egg roll he'd received from an Eat store in Edinburgh airport. Apparently the sorry specimen cost £3.20, and people were quick to join Spambox in his outrage.
WHAT THEY WON: We don't know for sure if Spambox got any compensation, but a spokesperson from Edinburgh airport told The Scotsman that they'd be addressing the complaint with Eat.
6. The graffiti artist who made a sneaky emoji addition to a McDonald's billboard.
Haha, sorry @McDonalds but you've been done! #graffiti #Bristol pic.twitter.com/fCnwYXL1g3— Ian Grainger (@Graingeri) July 8, 2015
An anonymous artist decided to troll a McDonald's billboard by adding an extra emoji on at the end. It's subtle, but effective.
WHAT THEY WON: Widespread praise on social media.
7. And this graffiti artist, who embarked on a hilarious battle with the authorities.
Over the course of a year, Mobstr documented a graffiti "experiment" with the local council that involved repeatedly spray-painting a random brick wall. Part of the wall was red, and the spray-painter discovered that any graffiti on the red patch would be painted over, whereas any graffiti on the rest of the wall would be pressure-washed off. What followed was a truly brilliant series of photos with an even better conclusion.
WHAT THEY WON: Well, they definitely won the battle. Look at the photos and you'll see what we mean.
8. The elderly couple who were refused an extra teabag in Marks & Spencer.
After two elderly customers were denied the additional teabag they requested in an Irish branch of Marks & Spencer, their daughter took to Facebook to express her disappointment. Various commenters piled in to back her up, and Marks & Spencer were forced to apologise.
WHAT THEY WON: We don't know exactly what they won (and the original complaint appears to have been deleted), but Marks & Spencer's Facebook message suggests they'll certainly have got something out it. Maybe some free tea vouchers for their next visit.
9. And finally, the man who forced UK film censors to watch paint dry.
Pls support my Kickstarter campaign to make the UK's film censorship board watch paint dry https://t.co/JQmhtcmMzs pic.twitter.com/nSu6nd2Z1F— Charlie Lyne (@charlielyne) November 16, 2015
After growing frustrated with the British Board of Film Classification (the BBFC, ie. the body that watches and attaches a certificate to all UK films), Charlie Lyne decided to launch a genius protest. He filmed 14 hours of paint slowly drying on a brick wall, then set up a Kickstarter with the aim of raising money to force the BBFC to watch as much of the film as possible (the BBFC charge by the minute, so the more money Lyne's Kickstarter raised, the longer the final film would be).
WHAT THEY WON: The Kickstarter finished on December 16 and a total of £5,937 was raised, meaning the BBFC will soon be forced to watch 13 hours and 27 minutes of paint drying.