Bill Gates gaffe
Bloody hell, why hasn’t this been picked up? Talk about PR gaffes, listen to this soundbite from Bill Gates. I hear that the uber uber fromage, Bill Gates unintentionally made an uproarious comment at the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference. On the first night’s show-opening discussion, Billy boy declared – wait for it […]
Editorial Intelligence
I received my old friend Julia Hobsbawn’s Editorial Intelligence report called The Power of The Commentariat. It features research which involved a self selecting small group of individuals from business, media, politics, public life, academia and a group set up by Editorial Intelligence on Facebook called Keep Up With The Commentariat to say who they […]
Old British frats myopic whinge at Eurovision defeats ..
I can’t believe the furore over the Eurovision song contest results and the ensuing curmudgeonly comments from the British public and Terry Wogan himself. I have not seen such myopia, xenophobia and dare I say racism emanating from an event that should advocate friendly global relations. To say that the Eastern block states all voted […]
Hello and the Royal Wedding buy up.
Mark Phillips and Autumn Kelly’s decision to sell their story and wedding exclusive to Hello! magazine has caused such a level of furore that nearly every paper has had something to say on the matter. The wedding exclusive agreement with Hello! was on the understanding that no senior member of the Royal Family would be […]
Yet another Britney publicity scam..
A new Britney Spears sex tape is set to be released. Obviously she needs the coverage! I find it hard to beleive she is she so desperate to allow it to be released. The footage allegedly features Britney, 26, stripping off naked apart from a pink wig, and romping with ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib. The paparazzi […]
Get it together Gordon
Since the whole 10p tax band withdrawal and the local elections fall out, Labour truly is in the unenviable position that most parties at the end of their term find themselves in. Gordon Brown is a man ill at ease with the modern process of PR and engaging with the media cycle. He is not […]
Media Aphrodisiacs
A huge and gloomy list, outing PR spammers http://prspammers.pbwiki.com/ I am told that this wake was put together by Gina Trapani, editor of Lifehacker.com, but somehow I don’t think this will stem the flow. Trust me, idiots who take the corporate buck will always attempt to push their luck, sometimes with disastrous ends. Beware, as […]
Sarcastic .. me .. never
Its seems that a lot of people missed the point of my blog on Media Guardian.. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2008/05/the_textbook_definition_of_goo.html
Hello! magazine celebrates its 20th birthday
My ramblings about Hello found their way into today’s Independent feature about the magazine http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/hello-magazine-celebrates-its-20th-birthday-824252.html
Brain food and Derren Brown
I smell an ambitious new brand, hungry for attention – step forward FpsBrain. A number of blogs have noticed with a mix of amusement and depression that this brand will do anything to get noticed. Great stunts should never be seen and the slight of hand is crucial when trying to use this form of […]
Shafta's 2008
Had great fun last night at the SHAFTAs http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/07/dailystar.dailystarsunday?gusrc=rss&feed=media . What a night!
Artist to sell £14,040 of drugs in Glasgow Gallery
I have just been sent this release about a solo show by artist activists the “Vacuum Cleaner”. The group plans to sell £14,040 of Coke, Heroin and Hash as part of a gallery show. What a wonderful idea. Contemporary art is reaching new heights, mixing a PR stunt with art. Is it a wind up? […]
Hilary Clinton's PR team land a killer blow.
On the eve of the crucial primaries this weekend in North Carolina and Indiana, Hilary Clinton’s PR team landed a killer blow. Hillary appeared via satellite on the late Show with David Letterman where he showed her funny funky side. The comic hook was that she read the shows infamous top ten list. The list […]
Avram needs a little help
Chelsea’s heroic win to get through to The Champions League final was fantastic to watch last night. The usual post match PR obligation however, proved yet again that Avram Grant fails to deliver to the media. His lack of charisma and inability to project his personality or provide incisive sound bites will create further speculation […]
Anti Smoking Ad Tops Complaints
Out of the 14.080 adverts which drew complaints last year, the official government anti smoking campaign, showing a woman with a fish hook through her cheek, provoked the most anger. Over the last few years there has been a growth in the amount of complaints that the Advertising Standards Authority has received, particularly for commercials […]
Borkowski – " A day in the life"
The rather good – AccessInterviews has noted that my Sunday Times A Day in The Life interview is up on Times Online
Curtains for Mark Warner?
For a second there, I thought the Mark Warner brand was plummeting to a certain death. News at lunch time was rife with comments that Kate McCann, in a forthcoming TV documentary, was suggesting that the absence of a child monitoring service on Mark Warner holidays was to blame for Maddie’s disappearance. So far the […]
Another pathetic MTV PR stunt
Why oh why is MTV associating itself with zzzzz list celebrities once again. Stand by for another desperate attempt by MTV to try and sell its pitiful content. It’s as subtle as getting a tan with a blow torch. The latest scam is a mildly amusing viral campaign for the skanky UK Big Brother series […]
Miss Landmine
Shock tactics and lateral thinking make the “Miss Landmine” contest, dismissed by some as a “freak show”, the most interesting way to make the world aware of landmines again, since the death of Diana. The contest, created by a Norwegian film director, Morten Traavik, was inspired by the plight of landmine victims in Angola. There […]
Monkey Business
I loved the Orangutan protest covered in today’s Daily Mail. Environmentalists dressed in Orangutan costumes and besieged the London headquarters of Unilever, the giant household products conglomerate. At the same time, its offices in Rotterdam and Rome and a factory in Merseyside were targeted. According to a Greenpeace report, Burning Up Borneo is accusing Unilever […]