Mark My Words Blog
Welcome to ‘Mark My Words,’ the digital sanctuary where insight meets intrigue, and commentary sparks contemplation.
Delve into the dynamic world of PR maverick Mark Borkowski as he unravels the threads of media, culture, and communication. Mark’s blog is a treasure trove of industry wisdom, offering a backstage pass to the inner workings of publicity and the ever-evolving landscape of modern media.
Borkowski – " A day in the life"
The rather good – AccessInterviews has noted that my Sunday Times A Day in The Life interview is up on Times Online
Curtains for Mark Warner?
For a second there, I thought the Mark Warner brand was plummeting to a certain death. News at lunch time was rife with comments that Kate McCann, in a forthcoming TV documentary, was suggesting that the absence of a child monitoring service on Mark Warner holidays was to blame for Maddie’s disappearance. So far the Mark Warner company which specialises in family holidays, has amazingly survived any bad press, but this could have been their worst nightmare. I was certain there would be a backlash for the brand, but to my amazement, The Evening Standard, not more than four hours…
Another pathetic MTV PR stunt
Why oh why is MTV associating itself with zzzzz list celebrities once again. Stand by for another desperate attempt by MTV to try and sell its pitiful content. It’s as subtle as getting a tan with a blow torch. The latest scam is a mildly amusing viral campaign for the skanky UK Big Brother series 8, Chanelle Hayes. Remember, Chanelle once declared that she would rather have the money in the bank than a personality. Well thanks to the cuddly boys at MTV , suddenly she is slapping her ass in bed with a glove puppet and we are supposed…
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 are more than 80,000 amputees in Angola and out of 1.4 million landmines planted in Cambodia, there are still 1 million that remain buried. Morten secured funding from the EU, Norway’s Arts Council and the Angolan Government’s de-mining commission and now there are plans to…
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 of destroying the Indonesian rainforests, a natural habitat for Orangutans, to get palm oil which is used in soaps and lotions. Unilever admitted using palm oil but only in some of their products. This simple publicity stunt involving humans dressing up in monkey costumes has…
Prescott's out
I am now thinking that Prescott’s outing of his eating disorder has projected the issue into the heart of the media churn. It has generated so much attention on the debate that it’s submerged the book release. Well done JP, your honesty has allowed so many to face up to this modern illness. It seems that your struggles have given hope to millions.
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 the creators of that industry, who stepped out of circus life carrying the legacy of PT Barnum and applied it to Vaudeville, the movie industry and to the world that sprang from their legacy. Hopefully I take the reader on a fascinating journey in search…
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 books on the shelves. The people that pay vast sums for the rights to someone’s life come up with a predictable set of tricks to get them in the public eye. Make no mistake from Jordan to JK Rowling if they get it right they…
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 Berlusconi has survived a series of blunders and PR disasters. In his prime, Berlusconi thought nothing of insulting fellow politicians, world leaders and whole countries. He was even forced to make a grovelling public apology to his wife, Veronica, after she wrote to a newspaper…
Shock Sony pictures invest in Prom Night publicity stunt ..
At long last, a Hollywood Studio buying into a publicity stunt. According to reports, a fear-inducing publicity stunt in US movie theatres helped usher in success for the new film “Prom Night,” as the movie won the box office battle for the weekend ending April 13, according to USA Today and other film sources. The slasher flick had a B-list cast and a set of really crap reviews, but nonetheless vaulted to an estimated $22.7 million in its opening weekend. I love to see stunts embraced in an ever cautious, penny pinching environment but clearly the US audience loved the…
Planes, Trains and… lost luggage
What an awful ordeal Rob Napier must be going through, having left his 17th Century violin, worth nearly $400.000, on a Great Western Train. Left on the luggage rack, the prized instrument, made by the master Venetian craftsmen Matteo Goffriller, has not been seen since it went missing in January, despite Napier calling the train company the second the train pulled out of the station. By the time the train got to its destination, the violin had gone…. And don’t I know what that feels like.
Embarrassing PR gaffs…..
In –house PR folk are caught declaring only ‘muppets’ would ditch O2 for 3 From the Register Read on ….
Max Mosely PR meltdown
Experts: Mosley must go quiet over orgy claims LONDON, England (CNN) — Motor sport boss Max Mosley needs a period of “dignified silence” before finding friends willing to help rebuild his image after claims about his role in a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes, according to media experts By Glen Scanlon For CNN Mark Borkowski, a media commentator and publicist, said Mosley could survive the revelations. However, “honesty must overwhelm hubris.” “You’ve got to get above it… fighting a losing battle will compound distress — while posturing legal threats are meaningless without determination and will.” Borkowski said the key to…
Can Max Mosley survive at the helm of the FIA?
Yes – Mark Borkowski, Media commentator and publicist Can a personality survive the sort of scandal enveloping the beleaguered FIA president, Max Mosley? Of course, but it all depends on their attitude to how the media are reporting the story. It is an unenviable situation of deep personal pain. At least Max can afford good PR counsel but the million-dollar question is: can he trust the pilot to steer him through these stormy waters? Honesty must overwhelm hubris – fighting a losing battle will compound distress – while posturing legal threats are meaningless without determination and will. A strategy of…
The Journey of Harmony
Thanks for Pete Fraser for sending me this link to the History News Network . An article on this rather good site highlights the origin of the Olympic torch relay. Not good news that it was engineered for the Nazi Games in Berlin. Its apposite that the BCOG have taken a leaf from Nazis lexicography and have called the torch procession “The Journey of Harmony” and our using it for their own brand of cuddly propaganda. Read on “In fact, this ceremony never occurred at the ancient Olympics. The modern conception is a mishmash of two quite different pagan traditions…
China's Olympic PR nightmare
China’s Olympic PR nightmare April 07th, 2008 | Category: Mark My Words After a week in the depths of the French countryside without access to the internet, I returned yesterday to the utter madness of the Olympic torch relay procession through London. How could this blatant PR stunt for the Chinese government have been allowed to take place? The front pages of most of today’s dailies show Chinese security heavies jogging alongside the police to protect the flame from protesters. More power to the thousands who took to the streets to express their anger, I say, given that the Chinese…
Heathrow Terminal 5 the PR disaster
The opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow has been a complete PR meltdown! So far, 70 flights have been cancelled and irate travelers spitting blood are wandering the concourse trying to reclaim luggage. I hear its going to get worse with more cancellations expected over the weekend. What a PR disaster especially when the media was hoping for great things. In PR, slanguage the BA brand is in a tailspin. However, wait – out of the chaos steps BA’s boss Willie Walsh with an honest sound bite “it’s not our finest hour.” Holy mother a chief executive accepting that the…
Brand Sarkozy: who is behind the French leader's London PR triumph?
The French president’s PR team brought the Sarko & Carla show already perfected in their home country to London this week with similarly successful results The UK national press dedicate a third day of considerable space to the state visit to Britain by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, aided and abetted by his able uber-Frau.
Ab fab alive but lost in showbiz
My attention has been drawn to Lost in the Showbiz a website set up to celebrate the weight of witless, achingly silly PR guff. The site declares that it yearns to share all the inane crap it receives with the world. Gawd, I feel my age! The explosion of airhead PRs, who make Eddy Monsoon look like a quantum physician, surround my paunch like a plague of enthusiastic zombies. I predicted the reputation of the industry was in deep peril after I interviewed a frothy funky girl from a frothy funky boutique agency a year or so ago. She was “on the…
Cold Mud and Monsanto
Cold Mud www.coldmud.com – the excellent site that links you to all you need to know about food posted Monsanto profit news this morning. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a1GHj4N2tLEI&refer=us – All very interesting. Some time ago, Coldmud reminded us that Monsanto invented Agent Orange, “herbicide and defoliant” used by the States Armed Forces in its Warfare programme during the “Vietnam War. Between 1963 and 1966, 6 million gallons of Agent Orange were used in Vietnam.