2007 will go down in history as an extremely busy year for the humble spin meisters in mediaville. There were plenty of things to occupy the media that had a PR overtone, beginning with the meltdown over celebrity Big Brother’s racist poppadom gate which gave Channel 4 a lot to think about and threatened the…
The Associated Press has reported that the next U.S. Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs will be James K. Glassman. He will replace the infamous PR czar, Karen Hughes, one of the most important people in Bush’s government. Glassman had served on the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World,…
A pizza chain in OZ has produced a YouTube video suggesting employees of a rival chain have small penises, in a bizarre war over the size of their tasty treats. I love this stunt which isn’t generating the ink it deserves. Eagle Boys Pizzas in Australia has attacked Domino’s Pizzas for secretly reducing the size…
Matthew Freud’s power and influence of will be boosted into the stratosphere due to the promotion of his brother in law, James. I expect the bitchy PR world will continue to take swipes at Matthew, especially when the small minds of the major PR networks finally comprehend the significance of the new shape of the…
I spent most of the night studying the entries for the MediaGuardian Innovation awards, an idea cooked up by the MediaGuardian to celebrate innovations in the media industry. I’m judging the PR and Brand Identity sections and I have to admit I found the homework a depressing task. Hopefully, when the judges all gather to…
I had an enjoyable evening last night, pontificating to 300 PR souls at the Old Cinema at Westminster University. The event was in “a public conversation with my old mate Trevor Morris”, who prompted me to respond to issues that were pertinent to modern PR. The final half hour of the evening was taken over…
I heard today on the radio about a PR company in Chicago, Empower Public Relations, which has made office gossip a sackable offence. When Sam Chapman started his small company, Empower, it was partly because he left a company where vicious backbiting was an epidemic. He felt it damaged careers and morale. I whole heartedly…
I don’t mean to bash HM but reading this mornings tabloids it’s difficult not to comment on her latest PR action. I was shocked to see Heather Mills McCartney across the media today in the guise of ambassador for Viva – (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals). When a celebrity is so high profile and under…
Jane Fonda and John Lennon created a PR backlash for the US administration when they used their celebrity 35 years ago to protest against the Vietnam War. In the 21st century, red faces in the US administration are caused by the rapper Jay-Z dissing the dollar. This stunt indicates that modem celebrities feel that the…
The bad news is that the type of bird flu found in turkeys on a Suffolk farm is the virulent H5N1. The government has stepped in to calm the media. Sorry to be the harbinger of doom but I detect the hand of a shadowy PR spin doctor with a damage limitation plan. Take note, careful…