In some ways the return to austerity is being messaged cleverly. The level of cost-cutting being trailed will have a human toll and a political cost, earning the ire of both the anti-tax right and the anti-cuts left. However, not so long ago Cameron and Osborne won a majority from a similar platform, and this…
The world cup in Qatar is quickly turning into the #pr equivalent of Pandora’s Box.Hosting such a major event is a significant soft power exercise itself, but one that totally backfired for Qatar. From allegations, including by the US DoJ, of ‘buying’ votes during the tender to host the tournament – a subsect of a wider corruption…
Sending solidarity and sympathy to anyone who has fallen foul of the 2022 Arts Funding Massacre. But there’s a lesson and a warning here too. We’ve had a government that has been nakedly hostile to the Arts in most of its guises throughout twelve years in power. During that time, the industry has had ample…
If Boris Johnson leaves a legacy on British politics, it will be his decimation of the notion that senior public servants must be serious people.Matt Hancock going on ‘I’m a Celebrity…’ is the perfect case study, but it’s unclear whether his motivation for entering the jungle is more about personal fame or a circuitous route…
‘I’ve had enough’ asseverated Tory Grandee, Sir Charles Walker, seemingly close to tears. ‘I’ve had enough of talentless people’. Speaking to the BBC hours after the resignation of the Home Secretary, and hours before the resignation of the Prime Minister, his words struck a chord internationally.Even before Liz Truss slashed the record for the shortest-serving…
A lot of people are sending me Rob Mayhew’s sketches about agency life, correctly praising how funny a performer he is and how he’s nailed the universal experience of working in Advertising, Marketing, PR and their various adjuncts. Taking nothing away from Rob, certain of his sketches are so close to home that they cease…
An excellent TikTok by Mandy Lee https://lnkd.in/eKcNAQks it articulates something that those of us who work in the cultural sector have long felt; that aspects of the scene have been swallowed whole by consumerism, marketing and ‘content’. Coachella was her chief target, noting that the ‘fun’ of the festival is essentially a way to lure people into…
Commentary on Elon Musk’s grab for Twitter has ranged from its potential impact on the simmering tension between big tech and society at large to the possibility of the elusive ‘edit button’ finally being added to the app, but the reputational impact of the deal on both Twitter and its major new shareholder is equally…
Almost the first voice in Will Smith’s ear after slapping Oscars host Chris Rock for making fun of his wife, Jada, was his publicist. If we assume this wasn’t an elaborate stunt, this week the world may be wondering more than usual what on earth a publicist can do to influence a situation like that,…
As the outrage over the P&O scandal reaches the point of inertia, here’s my (slightly disheartening) take: We all saw the disturbing news of P&O Ferries sacking 800 people with no notice last week and the justifiable outrage it caused. We have seen protests from unions on the docks, captains refusing to leave their ships or let…