Mark Comments in the Press.
With a keen eye for cultural trends and a depth of insight honed through years of experience in the public eye, Mark stands as a beacon of clarity in a world often shrouded in confusion.
Mark’s commentary is both thought-provoking and incisive, inviting audiences to see beyond the surface and engage with the complexities of our times.
On the road to the NFT
The song Tony performed was written in the last five days, a gestating work in progress. He’s never done anything like this before – the song and the paintings aren’t finished. It never sounds as good as it does in one’s head, says Tony, but he thinks he’s a better artist for the process. Now on to the National Film Theatre back in the comfort of the Nissan Cube, talking about Tony’s upcoming reality show for Fox and film work for the UN on climate change. “I’ve always tried to do things that benefit mankind,” he says. @nissancubeuk
Tony Sings
Further proof of Tony Kaye’s status as a polymath – now he’s singing songs about immortality, using the paintings as inspiration. “Everything is written in the hell of compromise.” @nissancubeuk
Tony Kaye at the Hospital Club
In the Hospital Club, Tony’s setting up his Pop Up exhibition; paintings of lyrics and slogans with a certain feel of Basquiat about them. We are free of the @nissancubeuk fleet for a short while. Tony’s children are glad of this; they are bouncing everywhere in the gallery space laughing as their father sticks pictures to the clean wall with masking tape and sticking their own drawings on the other wall in a gleeful mirroring. They are, of course, another form of immortality for their father, unsung as yet on a day of questing for immortality.
In the Mosque
We’re spotting similarities inside the mosque; sacred spaces vary only slightly, according to Tony. “I thought this place was the hugest place. I enjoyed the performance aspect of singing texts, I had to read the Hebrew from the scroll. I enjoyed singing to a packed house! “The quest for immortality is to be with family and friends forever, it is the most important thing in life. The collective goal of life should be the search for an end to pain, suffering and death.” At an early age, Tony knew he wanted to leave something behind. Now he believes it could…
At the Mosque
“This is where I became a man 44 years ago!” Negotiations for entry are underway – we are off to find a sheik at a restaurant to seek permission to film inside the mosque. Many phone calls are being fired off in the Somine Restaurant on the corner of Crossway and Kingsland High Street. The air is heavy with the scent of soup – which smells good enough for Tony to order some. Permission’s been found. One of the mosque elders has seen American History X and wants Tony’s autograph.
On the way to the mosque
On the way to an old synagogue in Stoke Newington, one which has been converted into a mosque. Tony spent a lot of time with his grandparents just round the corner from this building. His grandfather, Isaac Cross, was a runner for him. “I was born into an orthodox family who came from eastern Europe and lived in the east end,” says Tony. “My bar mitzvah was held at the synagogue in Shaklewell Lane. It’s now a mosque. It’s great – I love the spiritual fusion in architecture of these two faiths. “I’m obsessed with all religious texts – I…
At the site of the old Middlesex Hospital
Outside the old Middlesex Hospital, a Rolls Royce goes past. “Get one of these,” calls Tony to Felix Dennis’s chauffeur, pointing at the fleet of Cubes. The chauffeur’s not impressed. “I’ve outlived a building,” says Tony. “I don’t know where it went. We should have started here. But now we’ve seen where I was born 57 years ago we can move on.” If you can outlive a building, the seeds of eternal life are definitely beginning to sprout. @nissancubeuk
Twithibition live online exhibition today
One of my friends, the filmmaker Tony Kaye, is in London this week to launch a series of Design Inspiration events at The Cube Store, a unique, pop-up destination and creative forum in Brick Lane set up to celebrate the launch of one of Japan’s greatest design icons, the Nissan Cube. To celebrate Tony’s arrival in the country from LA, I am running my second Twithibition live online exhibition today (Friday 27th Nov 09), following him around London in a Nissan Cube and revisiting all the sites of the greatest myths surrounding his career – from his installation of a…
The Journey Begins
The journey begins in a fleet of Nissan Cubes. We’ve arrived at The Basil Street Practice at 9.15 to put into practice the day’s theme: Tony Kaye’s journey to immortality. Kaye insists that he is overly cautious, so a visit to a doctor in Knightsbridge is a thematic essential – added to that, Kaye has a bump on his arm he needs to check out. We have to find a doctor, maybe not Dr Northridge, who Tony is keenest to see; any doctor will do. We follow Tony in. The secretary is politely puzzled, as Tony has no appointment. But…
SideWiki changes everything
The Media Guardian published an article of mine in yesterday’s Media comment looking at the rise of Google’s SideWiki and what it will mean for the future of PR. To read the published version, click here. For the unexpurgated version, please keep reading! Given the amount of fear other Google innovations, like their library project, have caused, it’s surprising that alarms bells have not been heard ringing throughout the PR world since SideWiki’s launch in September. The internet is an evolutionary tool and for the world of PR, its daily use is as significant as the use of the wheel…
The British Song
A new poem by the Borkowski poet in residence, dedicated to Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, who will be making his first, controversial appearance on the BBC’s Question Time tonight. For the audio version, scroll to the bottom of the post… I’m Anglo-Saxon, I’m of German extraction. I’m a Celt. My blood’s from the East. I’m Norman, I’m Viking and I came hiking to the British ethnicity feast. Yes, I’m British, British, born of the skittish aftermaths of empires gone. I’m mixed, multiracial and no PR facial can take away from the truth of my song. I’m Muslim, I’m…
The Sleb's Prayer
Our publicist which art in Chinawhite shallowed be our names. Thy quick-fix come, thy stunts be run in Heat as they are on Popbitch. Give us this day our daily big-ups and forgive us our coke deals as we forgive those who report our coke deals to the press. Lead us not into the Priory and deliver us from journalists for thine is the Twitter, the spin-cycle and the story for fifteen months and forever. Amen. Adam Horovitz Written after hearing that a chain of hotels frequented by celebrities, which are to be featured in a reality show, have asked…
Great Apes! The Fame Formula on X Factor
Some of the contestants in the X Factor, wanting to learn a thing or two about the publicity tricks of the past to help get them through the tough new auditions system, (where they have to face not only the barbed comments of Simon Cowell and co, but the baying of a full-throttle audience out for carefully-packaged blood) have turned to the Fame Formula for ideas, it seems, as this picture from the ITV website proves. A hug from Danni and Simon may be all very well, but it seems that The Fame Formula is the hardened fame seeker’s reference…
Improperganda: The Great Edinburgh Stunt #Twithibition
I have just launched Improperganda: The Great Edinburgh Stunt Twithibition, a whole new form of exhibition, especially for the Edinburgh Festival, featuring 11 eye-catching posters commemorating some of the greatest stunts to have graced the streets of Edinburgh and utilizing the conversational, interactive power of the internet The #Twithibition is a manifold, interactive marvel – the posters can be viewed, assuming they’ve survived weather, vandals and other flyposters, on the streets of Edinburgh in the places where the stunts happened. They can also be viewed on Twitter by searching the site for #twithibition. Most importantly, the exhibition can be added…
The looting of Michael Jackon's brand
The media post mortem following Michael Jackson’s death, which shows no signs of abating, has unearthed some astounding observations. With the tearful tributes, the questions about cause of death, the demand for a second post mortem, potential custody battles over his children and the absence of any will and testament, I can’t help feeling that the greatest tragedy in this whole sad affair, is the unadulterated exploitation of a man who was clearly disturbed and at the mercy of a number of charlatans. Of course show business is exactly what it claims to be – business – and it’s always…
Mark on Fame on Austrian Radio
I gave an interview for Austrian radio last week on the nature of fame in the 21st Century. The podcast is available now but I am posting up the extract of my interview on this site. Click here to listen to my comments on Fame on Austrian Radio or, to hear the full podcast, click here.
Taking the Flack: Prince Harry and the Royal Press Machine
The papers have been full of Prince Harry’s new girlfriend Caroline Flack, the presenter of Gladiators and, it has become clear, a full throttle Alpha Female and a hedonist of the first order. But now The Sun has announced that Harry’s dumped Flack because he misses Chelsy Davy, quoting him – through a friend – as saying: “I lost the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m paying for it.” I wonder if this is the true voice of the Prince, who has proved time and again that you can’t keep a young, rich and eligible man from…
Rebranding the pollack as Colin: oceans away from a Consignia-style disaster
My first Guardian piece thanks to followers on Twitter. People have genuinely and generously given me their thoughts on the worst rebranding they could think of which enabled me to write this piece. Thank you all of you. Ahh the power of Twitter. Consignia? Monday? Choco Krispies? All failed rebrands – but Sainsbury’s renaming pollack as Colin should fare better. God bless Sainsbury’s, whose environmental passion has created a feeding frenzy on the rebranding of pollack – which will now be known as Colin (pronounced co-lan), the French name for a related breed of fish. This well-timed story proved tempting…
The Fame Formula: Cooking With Bacon
The Fame Formula paperback promotional rounds started last night with an interview on BBC Radio 5 on Richard Bacon’s show. It was fun doing it with Boyd Hilton from Heat magazine and Richard was a real pro. It was a good way to start off the promotional rounds. I was pleased that Richard liked the book and enjoyed the sizzling banter, which riffed off yesterday’s blog about rescue plans for Fred Goodwin as well as others. To find out about more upcoming promotional events for the paperback of The Fame Formula, click here. To buy the paperback, which is available…
Beatwax @ Borkowski
And now for some fantastic news! Borkowski will – from April 1st – be bringing the ideas and execution consultancy Beatwax into the Borkowski fold, completing our expansion plans and allowing us to further develop complementary creative solutions for our clients. I’ve admired the work of Beatwax for a long time – their stunt to promote The Simpsons Movie, placing a huge Homer Simpson next to the Cerne Abbas Giant made it into my book, The Fame Formula, as an example of the sort of stunt that continues the work of the great publicists. Their recent, stunning campaign for Paramount,…