Having watched “Some Like It Hot” over the Christmas holiday, I was reminded of the controversy between Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. Image wise, Monroe did very well from this film, but Tony Curtis’ publicist put a different spin on things. He reported that Curtis had said kissing Monroe in “Some Like It Hot” was…
As the showgirl who recovered from breast cancer returns to the British stage tomorrow, writers, performers and campaigners applaud the most triumphant of comebacks MARK BORKOWSKI, PR CONSULTANT I think she certainly is a modern, popular, cultural icon. To a certain extent she is a pop entertainment phenomenon that transgresses a generation and sexuality. She’s…
Post Christmas PETA have created a publicity stunt in the States to make global headlines. People were ticketed today in downtown Chattanooga for wearing fur, leather or wool. Two PETA members wearing provocative police costumes acted as fashion police handing out citations while holding placards reading “Animal Skins Are a Fashion Felony”. PETA says it…
Charlie Drake made most of his money in the autumn of his career in seaside shows and pantomimes. His luck held until the Christmas of 1974, when he was starring in Jack and the Beanstalk at Bradford. As a publicity stunt, he auditioned local girls for one of the parts and Sue Moody, a 22-year-old…
Cultural engineering proved to be an exciting craft for the Hollywood studio publicists who created endless stories to promote actors and actresses alike. It was reported that Jayne Mansfield made everything in her house pink. She had a pink heart shaped bath installed in her bathroom, along with a pink outdoor pool. She had a…
In an eventful year for the media, we have seen boardroom battles and shock resignations; public acclaim and private fear. We ask a dozen industry insiders to select the real successes and failures of the last 12 months Mark Borkowski Founder, Borkowski PR The success of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat is a cracker. It takes…
Welcome to the real world. No matter what anybody thinks about media intrusion, never underestimate its intent and determination. The fourth estate has might which has no peripheries. Noel Edmonds new friend Liz Davies was exposed to the full heat of the paparazzi yesterday? She was forced off the road twice attempting to pick her…
Trivial Pursuit is in the news; it seems that its questions are getting easier. The great parlour game has become a victim of the dumbing down of culture. Borkowski won the account to promote the game back in the early 1990’s and we retained the job for five years. Much fun was had by one…
Marty Weiser, the Hollywood publicist, was famous for his inspired premiere party for Mel Brooks’ cult film Blazing Saddles, which starred Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little. Mel Brooks took a risk when he allowed Weiser to stage this stupendous publicity stunt in a disused Drive In movie theatre. In keeping with the film, which was…
“Yesterday the Liberal Democrats cemented their reputation as a party struggling to be taken seriously after Lembit Opik, MP announced that he had split with his television weather forecaster fiancee and was dating one half of the kitsch pop duo the Cheeky Girls.” The Guardian, 18/12/06. The Borkowski poet in residence considers what Tony Blair…