Goodwin the scapegoat is godsend for government
The government clearly does need people to focus attention away from them, writes Mark Borkowski. If they can, in some way, have a witch-hunt, not just on Fred Goodwin but other members of the banking community who are also sitting on pretty hefty pensions, that clearly helps. We all want a scapegoat. Unfortunately, scapegoats turn […]
We'll change the law to strip Sir Fred of his pension, vows Harman
Pressure on Sir Fred Goodwin to surrender a substantial proportion of his £693,000 annual pension intensified yesterday when Labour’s deputy leader signalled that the government was prepared to change the law to recover the cash. Harriet Harman said the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive had received “money for nothing” when he quit the […]
Critics of Max Clifford fail to comprehend his talents
The celebrities he manufactures may come and go but the silver fox remains centre stage, marvels fellow PR Mark Borkowski Monday, 2 March 2009 Red top ringmaster: Max Clifford speaks to the media after the recent wedding of his client Jade Goody to Jack Tweed in Essex Put any misgivings about Jade Goody’s Barnumesque three-ring […]
Howard Zieff and Learning from the Past
I heard today that Howard Zieff had died – a name I’d not really encountered before, despite the fact that he’d directed a few breezy comedies like Private Benjamin, starring Goldie Hawn – but the obituaries made me sit up and take notice. It turns out that, when he started out in advertising, he was […]
Max Clifford: Media Ringmaster
Put any misgivings about Jade Goody’s Barnumesque three-ring Circus sideshow to one side for moment. Instead, focus on the silver fox who has been the undisputed ringmaster of recent events in her life; Max Clifford. He may not be attired in a garish ring suit, but Max Clifford is clearly visible as the man, centre […]
David Blaine: Word of Mouth Showman Supreme
A breakfast meeting with David Blaine last week was a very pleasing and revelatory experience; it’s good to sit and talk with someone who really, really gets true showmanship, spectacle, creativity, word of mouth and viral publicity and who has encountered many of the same things I’ve encountered, even the Russian circus act with a […]
Not Rocking the BRITS
Where have all the rebellious heroes of British music gone? If the Brit Awards are anything to go by, there is pretty much no such animal anymore, just a parade of no-marks who are too wary of upsetting Mastercard, the sponsors, and the TV executives to do anything interesting. The fact that the inoffensive Welsh […]
Jade Goody and the Art of Dying
“Dying is an art,” wrote Sylvia Plath, in her poem Lady Lazarus, and the very public final weeks of Jade Goody are reinforcing Plath’s point remarkably well. Jade Goody has moved on from the unthinking, mouthy persona that brought her to national attention with a sudden aplomb, becoming, in her need to make a better […]
Wellcome Back: The Art of Stunt Resurrection
Reading about the Wellcome Collection’s stunt to promote research into the science of the freak show, featuring contortionist Delia du Sol, in the Evening Standard yesterday, I was reminded how, in the dark days of the recession before the big one, I met an extraordinary contortionist called Hugo Zamoratte. Zamoratte was an Argentina exile who was […]
Dating for the Terminally Ill
Is there any need to reinvent the dating agency? It seems that there is in America, where a company have audaciously taken the process to its extreme, as a press release announcing the launch of Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com, “The World’s First Dating Service for the Terminally Ill” proves. Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.com claims to be “designed to cut through the […]
Noel's HQ and the Sneering Press Officer
It’s good to see that my client Noel Edmonds’ groundbreaking new show on Sky One, Noel’s HQ, is having some effect. This week, the programme, which aims to inspire people to acts of kindness and help transform lives, tackled the case of Joe Townsend, a 20-year-old veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan. Townsend lost both […]
Google Latitude versus the Need for Privacy
In a world rife with the ability to keep an eye on where we are, with posters that are embedded with cameras that register how many people look at the poster for more than ten seconds and GPS phones that can traced their owners to within a yard or so, why is that that complaints […]
Carol Thatcher versus the BBC
The BBC are coming under fire again, this time for the sacking of Carol Thatcher, who, according to The Scotsman, “emerged last night as an unlikely rallying point for freedom of speech, after … referring to a tennis player as a ‘golliwog’.” “… a growing list of politicians, lawyers and media experts attacked the BBC,” […]
Bongs, brands and swimming against the tide
“So, what now for this latest dopey Olympian?” asked a headline in today’s Daily Mail, referring to American swimmer Michael Phelps’ bong-sucking faux pas. Phelps, who holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics (eight in Beijing) and the most ever golds won by an Olympian (fourteen), was photographed nursing […]
Viral Blog Flies Virgin
The Financial Times report on a blog that’s gone viral, complaining about the food on a Virgin flight from Mumbai to Heathrow, apparently written by a creative at WCRS advertising agency. They asked me for my take on the matter. “…some bloggers … suggest it was a viral marketing campaign by Virgin, a charge the […]
Brad Thinks Publicity's the Pitts
Dear old Brad Pitt. In an interview with Newsweek in the US this week, prior to the three-ring Oscar hoopla, the star says he’s sick and tired of the media focus on his relationship with Angelina Jolie. The actor hammers his point home throughout the interview, clearly believing the odd notion that his private life […]
Reality Show Rehab: Car Crash TV
The ghost of Barnum is stalking TV land, as a new show displaying the dark and slightly freakish side of celebrity seems to be proving: Living TV’s Rehab. And some less-than-A list celebrities are queuing up to take part. One, who was turned down, was apparently eager to get on the show and discuss their […]
The BBC and Aid for Gaza
Listening to Mark Thompson on this morning’s Today programme, justifying the corporation’s decision not to allow the broadcast of an appeal on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee for Gaza, I was distressed. The thrust of his argument was that he didn’t want the BBC’s impartiality being damaged. I am not sure about the semantics […]
Cutting Back in the Ramsay Empire
Gordon Ramsay’s given up his flak-managing flack Gary Farrow as part of a series of moves that see him scaling down his spending and financially restructuring his massive empire under the management of his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson. This may come as something of a blow for Farrow in these recessionary times; his skill with crisis […]
Little Chef Shafts Big Chef
When über-chef Heston Blumenthal III was asked to wave his magic wooden spoon over the roadside diner Little Chef, I raised my eyes to the gods. ‘What a gift for the production company,’ I thought. ‘Brilliant fly-on-the-wall telly at the expense of a tired old brand; we’ll be chuckling all the way to bed.’ How […]