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.
BIG BROTHER SOUP
The Borkowski poet in residence comes over all Jamie Oliver after watching more Celebrity Big Brother than anyone should have to cope with. Take a pinch or two of 70s pop singer an ounce of bubbly blonde two teaspoons of scrofulous rock star a soupcon of gay man. and mix gently in a sterile environment. Grate in, like nutmeg, the withered husk of reputation left to the Miss World competition. Whilst you are stirring, dip the toe of one crusty film director into the mix and then remove it. Get a sieve – a big one – and sift egos…
How should Kate deal with these prying eyes?
How should Kate deal with these prying eyes? The Observer Sunday January 14, 2007 The story that Prince William is about to propose to his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, sent some of the country’s fiercest snappers on to London’s streets last week in search of the perfect pic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,1989793,00.html
Diana all over again?
Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney,New South Wales,Australia [The royals] are much more controlled, in the same way a Hollywood studio would control the production of a film,” says Mark Borkowski, a British public … See all stories on this topic http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/12/1168105179260.html?from=top5
Beckham and Middleton
From the USA to Australia Borkowski quoted on the issues of the day A royal romance that’s hardly a fairytale The Age – Melbourne,Victoria,Australia But she manipulated the press to sell her image and unhappy message, a prominent British public-relations consultant, Mark Borkowski, http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/a-royal-romance-thats-hardly-a-fairytale/2007/01/12/1168105181424.html?page=2 Britain Reacts to Posh and Becks’s U.S. Move http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20008333,00.html
THE INT’RESTING GAME
The Borkowski poet in residence managed to tease an interview out of David Beckham on the announcement of his move to Los Angeles Galaxy for a quarter of a billion dollars. It’s time to a be a bit int’resting and remodel my career on Pele and George Best; get American footie into gear. The money will be int’resting – Victoria’s very happy. The paparazzi all speak English there; we hope they’ll be positively snappy. I’ve got to up my game a bit both on and off the field; in LA, int’resting’s not enough – more must be revealed. So I’m…
Beckham follows the yellow brick road.
The acres of space dedicated to David Beckham’s move to the US is staggering even by his own standards of hype. Make no mistake Beckham has a very clever and astute team behind him that has brokered this decision and deal. The simple fact is that for Golden Balls it’s a new beginning and not a new start. If he returned to Blighty wouldn’t he have to prove himself, in the land of the free it’s the new era?
Is the game up for the paparazzi?
Independent 10 01 2007 PR Mark Borkowski says there has been an exponential increase in “bounty hunters”. “The number of old-school paparazzi, those who have a good relationship … “The number of old-school paparazzi, those who have a good relationship with PRs and their clients, is very small indeed. Now we have people who seek a quarry. These are people with no photographic skills. It’s all about getting the picture. Digital technology has changed things for people. Now everyone can be a photographer. Last year, Noel Edmonds had his picture taken by guys who had been hiding up a tree…
Vegas & monkey: a welcome revival
Vegas & monkey: a welcome revival. Two paths that come together on one journey shape a new dimension of meaning and possibility, a co-creation of power and passion. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/
Help required
How many public relations executives does it take to change a light bulb? Anyone?
Police guard sparks Kate engagement talk
Police guard sparks Kate engagement talk The Scotsman 6th January FERGUS SHEPPARD – Media Correspondent SECURITY around Kate Middleton, girlfriend of Prince William, is believed to have been tightened within the past 48 hours. Mark Borkowski said: “Many newspapers have cut back on their picture desks over the years and there are more very clever freelancers. “Some of them, with the right impromptu picture of Kate Middleton syndicated – even if it is not taken up by a publication here – would earn enough to keep the average man, woman and child in this country in a life of luxury…
The return of the monkey
Two paths that come together on one journey shape a new dimension of meaning and possibility, a co-creation of power and passion. This isn’t a half baked, hippy Eastern Mantra, but a communication paradigm. When an advertising idea shapes up into brilliant opportunism, we all turn and chuckle and wish we had had the same idea. Thus the comedy duo, Johnny Vegas and his sidekick Monkey, return to our screens as the new faces of PG Tips. The pair was created for the adverts for the now defunct ITV Digital. Those who can remember must agree that the ad campaign…
Dogged but doomed
Animals and children always carry a health risk for publicists and “Pastorale Kennels” realised this to their cost in the 1930’s. “Pastorale Kennels” was a well known breeding kennels in Minnesota in the 1930’s, who commissioned a clever idea for a picture to advertise themselves in other American States. Before one of the biggest kennel club shows in the U.S, as a publicity stunt, seven Old English sheep dogs were harnessed together to pull a sled, instead of the usual huskies. However, the sheep dogs got loose from the sled and ran off. Unfortunately, they ran onto a train track…
VULTURE NATION
“Good photographers who have been thrown out by newspapers in cost cutting exercises now find themselves trudging celebrity land, like bounty hunters in search of prey. They are on the street, eating what they kill. Certain papers will publicly claim that they allow privacy, but they’re all hungry for front-page pictures… Even if the UK papers say they will allow privacy, they may decide to publish pictures that have already been shown abroad. If… people understood the pressures, perhaps they might take a stance on whether they would buy a paper that procured pictures in an underhand way. But I…
The prey of the paparazzi
The hysteria that is surrounding Kate Middleton today has resulted in various PR’s connected to the Palace asking for her to be taken out of the centre of this tornado. She has been pursued by avaricious photographers who are capturing her every move. Unless someone has actually been in the centre of something so news worthy, they can’t understand how horrific it is to be chased by so many photographers. Starlets crave it, but when it covers every part of their lives, it becomes a cancerous sore.
BRITNEY DE MILO
Britney Spears is commissioning a nude portrait of herself. She has finally got back in shape following the birth of her second son, Jayden James, and is so proud of her figure she wants it “immortalised” in a painting. For Britney Spears, immortality means being painted in the nude. She wants to be a pop art princess. She wants oils to make her less crude. She wants to define herself by her body, leave her mind at the studio door but they don’t make the kind of painters who can help her any more. If she wants to be a…
Celebrity Big Brother
So the craziness of Celebrity Big Brother begins again, with last night’s first instalment introducing the contestants. My ex client Leo Sayer finds himself in the house alongside a good friend of mine, Carole Malone. Both are extremely lovely company, so write them off at your peril! Leo is a somewhat eccentric and starstruck man due to the heights of his fame in the 1970’s and I hope the Big Brother cameras capture some of his great stories, one being a three day stint with Keith Moon. Carole Malone has one of the most acerbic pens in Fleet Street but…
Sick………
Further evidence to suggest that the porongraphy of war has a heartbeat watch this if you dare http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=863ce7d4a3&p=1
THIS IS HOW THE OLD YEAR DIES
This is how the old year dies; a ragged dictator swinging from the rope of days and weeks and months let go in the midst of prayers in a flood of abuse before the past can break from its cage. All the weddings and divorces, the extravagant moments of fake joy; all the tabloid exclusives, the celebrities bugging out in jungles; all the wars and warriors, the power and the paranoia; all the exposes and knicker shots, the pop queens in rehab; all the cardboard gangsters, the politicians and the paparazzi strangle slowly as the trapdoor opens. This is how…
Farewell to 2006 the year of the panty flash
It is a strange day and age when a panty flash courtesy of Playboy pin-up Pamela Anderson is considered modest by all accounts. But yes, move over leaked sex tape, the paparazzi crotch shot is here. If 2006 signified anything in the world of the chav celebrity, this is it. It has become the boldest career-boosting trend to date, with contestants for the best shots going to Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The first crotch shots ignited a flurry of bloggers around the world to debate their authenticity. Posted comments included a number of photoshop experts who claimed…
A Kiss and Hell Story
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 like “kissing Hitler”. This comment fuelled an ongoing battle between the two Hollywood stars. Years later, Tony Curtis denied that he had said anything of the sort and declared that it was all down to his publicist. During the 20th Century, publicists like Harry Reichenbach…