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.
Wookey Hole Big Eat Stunt
Mark talks through the stunt for the Wookey Hole Big Eat, staged in December 2006.
Is all publicity good publicity?
I was sent this sad and brilliant story from the Reuters bureau in Boogata which provoked deliberation. I have worked in the entertainment industry for many years and my mantra’s has always been, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity!” Sometimes I have a tough time defending that “All publicity is good publicity” as an absolute, but when I read the following report I chuckled at the response to a peculiar crisis at a travelling circus. (REUTERS) Two clowns were shot and killed by an unidentified gunman during their performance at a travelling circus in the eastern Colombian town of…
Genetically Modified Spokespeople
Well trained media spokespeople are now the norm, habituating every nook and cranny in most news programmes. If there is an issue that an editor wants to focus on, then hey presto, the PR handlers offer up a genetically modified human, built in a workshop, to face the foe. These well trained “greys” are regularly heard on the BBC Radio 4’s “The Today Programme”. This news agenda setter is a formidable programme which has prided itself on its aggressive, no nonsense style of news reporting, cutting to the quick and asking those difficult questions that its audience wants answered. But…
BURN BABY BURN
In the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith’s untimely death and the media frenzy over Britney Spears’ apparent inability to cope with fame and its consequences, the Borkowski poet in residence offers these words of advice for any starlet living on the edge… To read Mark Borkowski’s take on the same subject, click here. Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling under. Who’s going to come and steal your thunder? Who’s going to take your crown away rock your confidence, make you sway? Fresh as a, fresh as a, fresh as a daisy; that’s what you were before fame turned you crazy. Now even Frankenstein…
Burn Baby Burn
After a weekend away in Amsterdam, I return to find the UK newspapers devouring and obsessing about the Britney Spears’ shaved head moment. The Dutch don’t seem to have this same fixation about a feckless pop star going through career breakdowns in the most pubic way. You don’t have to be a Harley Street shrink to work out that it’s obviously a cry for help. I hope that Britney can exorcise her demons; at the very least, she needs to undo her pact with Beelzebub. Once you are up there, defied as some sort of pagan cultural icon, it’s impossible…
LIGHTER THAN AIR
Troubled pop starlet Britney Spears took reinvention to an extreme this weekend, shaving her head to the scalp days after reportedly checking in and out of rehab, sparking media speculation that she is nearing a breakdown. The weight of the world rests on celebrity shoulders when the pressure gets too much and confidence moulders away into rehab after the call of the wild has stripped back all ego to find hurt, hungry child. So it’s no surprise that Britney Spears’ hair was the first thing she’d lose to feel lighter than air and capable, confident despite all the shocks to…
SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS
Robbie Williams checked himself into a rehab clinic on Tuesday. Last night, a reformed Take That won Best Single at the Brit Awards. Swings and roundabouts, seroxat not booze. Robbie Williams is making the wrong sort of news. Swings and roundabouts, Red Bull and Vicodin. Robbie’s in rehab. His star is eroding. Swings and roundabouts, cigarettes and pills. Take That are partying through Robbie’s ills. Swings and roundabouts, depression’s the pits. Especially when your old band do so well at the Brits.
It's only a Boar that's Bored.
I have blogged before about how animals can upset the applecart and create negative publicity. I am keen to talk about the positive use of publicity to make people and brands famous, but my research continues to stumble on gaffs made by publicists trying to lure the media with a tale involving animals. In 1950, the German publicist Wolfgang Meyer, used a wild boar called Fritz to publicise a film being made in Germany, loosely based on the Arthurian legends. His idea was to let the boar loose in a little village outside Mainz where the film was being shot. …
THE PLASTIC DEATH OF PLASTIC GIRL
The Borkowski poet in residence remembers Anna Nicole Smith
DON’T BOGART THAT GOVERNMENT
David Cameron allegedly smoked cannabis at Eton 25 years ago. The Borkowski poet in residence wonders how this revelation may change his approach to reaching power. “This is a challenge and an opportunity for David Cameron. He is young, he is an ironic idealist, he still has his hair… he could make the Conservative Party seem new and radical… Perhaps the Tories can become the party of our “generation of change”. It would not be a bad idea.” William Rees-Mogg, The Times, February 12 Don’t bogart that government my friend, pass it over to me. Don’t bogart that government my…
WHAT AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE CAN TELL US ABOUT MARKETING TODAY
It’s been a good year around the world for the outdoor media market. Unlike Britain – where we are still flogging campaigns that win awards rather than consumer cut through – publicity connoisseurs have feasted on a new generation of living outdoor ad sites, retail theatre and publicity stunts that capture front pages. This hunger for wild and wacky stunts to engage the ad weary punter, has never been so vital.
VOYEURISM DEATH AND ANNA NICOLE SMITH
It was horrible; within minutes of her terrible demise Anna Nicole Smith made universal headlines. Before the poor woman was cold there was a feeding frenzy for the global media barons. Even as the proverbial ink dried on ” the page” celebrity voyeurs stepped up to paw over her tragic life. This was quickly followed by nodding commentators dribbling and deliberating. The blogosphere was deafening, I logged 93,261 bloggers offering their point of view in the first six hours. It was then left to the wags to play with Photoshop exchanging the viral executions around the net and the speed of light….
HUGH GRANT A GIRLFRIEND AND ANOTHER DRESS
Hugh Grant stepped out with his girlfriend, Jemima Khan, to the Premiere of his new film “Music & Lyrics” the other night. As you can see from the way the media picked over it, they were happy to draw comparisons to Liz Hurley and the Versace dress 13 years ago. It all goes to prove that when a publicity stunt is staged, it’s fine to repeat an idea. The dress moment will always generate interest, but there’s only one thing worth mentioning about this photo opportunity and that is that it will plague Ms Khan for years to come. She’ll…
Will Bernard Matthews survive bird flu?
The Guardian As he tucked into his own Christmas turkey, Bernard Matthews must have been relieved that 2006 was over. Hit by the the demise of the Turkey Twizzler and the exposure of animal cruelty – two of his workers had been filmed using a turkey as a baseball – his profits fell by 33% last year. But now, with 160,000 of his birds gassed because they were at risk of the H5N1 virus, is this the end for Bernard Matthews? Matthews, the portly, tweed-wearing Norfolk farmer, started his empire as a teenager, hatching 12 turkeys from eggs he bought…
CELEBRITY VENN
Kylie Minogue and Olivier Martinez have split amid rumours he had been unfaithful. Olivier has been linked to a series of other women throughout the couple’s four-year relationship. The Borkowski poet in residence takes a look, from a male perspective, at how this sort of behaviour can help consolidate fame. It takes some saliva to be a survivor in the world of celebrity venn where instant attraction beats natural selection and sex is the new form of zen. Cross fertilisation for the good of the nation is a game all celebrities play. Starlet dates starlet. Fame is a harlot. You…
Harry Reichenbach's blindfold stunt drivers
Harry Reichenbach loved to use stunts to usurp commercial enterprise. He keenly kept an eye on the media and anything that was getting a lot of attention would be targeted with one of his left field stunts. Harry had used stunt drivers in the very early years to publicise fair grounds and circuses, but with a difference. He would blindfold the driver and get them to drive around blind. A placard on the car would advertise the travelling fair ground attractions. Reichenbach then became involved in the Hollywood movie business and he began using stunt drivers to promote movies. In…
A BAD CASE OF DRY ROT
The Borkowski poet in residence asked a builder his opinion of one of the major topics of the day and wrote this as a result…
Matthew Freud, legendary manipulator, stage manager and fixer
My old pal Matthew Freud is truly a legendary manipulator, stage manager and fixer; a figure, whose undoubted skills as a PR suit, moves in shadowy circles. A regular at Davos, he knows how to knit his contacts together. There is much bitching about him, but not from me. There seems to be some sense of astonishment that Manchester won the super casino bid, beating Blackpool at the winning line. Hey, it was no surprise to me! In fact it proved that Sol Kerzner, the wheeler-dealer behind the bid, and the man who created the Sun City, had employed the…
CASH FOR HONOURS
“Tony Blair’s chief fundraiser and confidant Lord Levy was arrested for a second time yesterday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice over his role in the cash for honours affair.” The Guardian, Wednesday, January 31 If any email encryption bears Lord Levy’s inscription then the cards will come tumbling down and if the fragrant Ruth Turner has been on a nice little earner Tony Blair will answer to the Crown. Allegations of sleaze brought the Tories to their knees and into a state of meltdown Will Labour fare any better if the law digs up a letter connecting…