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Miss Landmine

Shock tactics and lateral thinking make the “Miss Landmine” contest, dismissed by some as a “freak show”, the most interesting way to make the world aware of landmines again, since the death of Diana. The contest, created by a Norwegian film director, Morten Traavik, was inspired by the plight of landmine victims in Angola. There…

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Monkey Business

I loved the Orangutan protest covered in today’s Daily Mail. Environmentalists dressed in Orangutan costumes and besieged the London headquarters of Unilever, the giant household products conglomerate. At the same time, its offices in Rotterdam and Rome and a factory in Merseyside were targeted. According to a Greenpeace report, Burning Up Borneo is accusing Unilever…

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The Fame Formula at London Book Fair

Encouraging news on the book front – http://pfdbooks.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/the-last-day/ PFD,my agents, have been trying to sell the international rights to the book at the London Book Fair. My book, The Fame Formula, hits the bookshops in August. The Fame Formula is an account of how Hollywood’s fixers, fakers and star makers shaped the publicity industry. It is a history of…

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John Prescott autobiography – publicity stunt or honest revelation

So- John Prescott has a book on his life coming out. Yes, another politician cashing in on his public office to help fund a comfortable retirement. It is tough selling books – have you ever wondered when you have been in a WH Smith, Tesco’s or Waterstones, how the hell do they shift all the…

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Silvio Berlusconi: the PR disaster's returns

The most gaffe-prone European leader of modern times, 71-year-old media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, starts his third term as Italy’s prime minister today. Despite Italy facing deep economic and social problems, being a country close to recession with consumer buying power falling and unemployment rising, the man is back to pilot the ship of state. Somehow…