Oscar Wilde didn’t say all publicity is good publicity. It was another Irish cause célèbre Brendan Behan who coined the phrase (though he conceded that obituaries are best avoided). If this were true there would be no need for PR. Rather, Wilde wrote that not being talked about can be relatively worse than facing a…
Normally a potato-faced jock saying he fancies a bud is not worth much thought. But the Super Bowl isn’t normal. Peyton Manning, fresh from leading the Denver Broncos to victory over Carolina, told CBS he’s going to “drink a lot of Budweiser tonight.”With one seemingly impromptu slip –followed by a less impromptu-seeming second- Anheuser-Busch, his…
Elton John hit all the right headlines yesterday in time for the release of his new album ‘Wonderful Crazy night’. However with Sir Elton’s piano practice at St Pancras Station spontaneity seems to the be the hardest word. From the Guardian to the Evening Standard, the papers dutifully danced to the tune of a generic…
Not a day goes by without someone new “weighing in” on the Oscars So White row. Yesterday it was Obama’s turn, today it’s mine. Say what you will about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but they know how to keep entertainment hacks busy. The diversity in opinions crowding for attention since the nominations…
It’s banal. It’s cynical. It lacks all credibility. Yet somehow Blue Monday has become an actual thing, a date that registers on our cultural calendar and even has its own Wikipedia page. This is the day, usually the third Monday in January that Psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall showed to be the most miserable day of…
It was this time three years ago when the release of a song sent shockwaves around the world, from Ibiza to the Norfolk broads. David Bowie marked his 66th birthday by giving his fans ‘Where are we now?’, a mysterious but somehow so familiar new single, his first in a decade… http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2016/01/11/david-bowie-reclusive-master-self-promotion
There is no worse PR for the establishment than to be seen to be awarding good PR, but Conservative campaign guru Lynton Crosby’s knighthood is a vindication of his world-class talents, writes Mark in PR Week. http://www.prweek.com/article/1377973/lynton-crosby-noble-knight-common-pr-touch
In 2015 we all loved authenticity, right? The ‘New Politics’ engaged and enraged in equal measure. Cannes Lions was all about purposeful brands. FleishmanHillard launched a new product to help companies drive an authenticity agenda. Whether you’re a boutique dentist or selling bleach being human was at the centre of everyone’s comms strategy.For PR this has been…
As Sir Elton John and his publicist say their goodbyes, I ask if the role of PR is underrated. http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2015/12/18/parting-shots-sir-elton-john-and-his-publicist-say-their-goodbyes-role-pr
Donald Trump is a festive panto that has gone on past its season. He struts from podium to studio with the self-sacrificing gall of a celeb foregoing Beverly Hills for a stint of Mother Goose at a dreary middle England theatre. With each of his bombastic interventions there’s always the sense that he’s disappointed we…