Mark My Words

The post-match press conference has yielded as many iconic moments as it has sporting clichés: I’m thinking of Kevin Keegan’s infamous ‘I will love it’ rant, former Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson’s ‘ostrich’ tirade, and, further afield, Mike Tyson’s ‘I wanna eat your children’. With the press conference come a fair share of gaffes. One understands, then, Naomi […]

I found myself staying up late watching a profoundly depressing Question Time last night. What emerged, amid discussion of Boris’s cash-for-curtains deal with an anonymous private benefactor, was that the audience expects such behaviour from politicians and are much less scandalised by graft than one would think. People cheered as an audience member passionately defended […]

Furore among football fans this week as news leaked that 12 of the world’s biggest clubs were breaking away from the sport’s governing bodies to form a ‘European Super League’ (ESL).The revelation wasn’t so much announced as dropped like a ballistic missile and has, both operationally and in terms of potential fallout, been a disaster […]

It’s being described as ‘the worst IPO in London’s history’. What can we learn from Deliveroo’s historic flop? The public’s perception of their values played no small part in the poor performance.Sure, the money-men are blaming various details about the IPO process. Deliveroo’s advisers blamed short sellers for the plunge; others say Deliveroo priced its […]

From recent headlines and tweets, you’d think that Piers Morgan was over and done for. Sure, he’s baited controversy in the past, his critics say, but now he’s gone too far… The backlash he’s sparked means he will never float again. A man who has made an art of being cancelled in the traditional sense […]

Over here in the UK, the story of Meghan and Harry’s tell-all interview is all-consuming. Expectation has only intensified as it draws nearer. But what about in middle America, where people have already seen it?We circulated a survey which brought to light some interesting findings.We reached out to young people mostly in the middle of […]

Woke parents are applauding Hasbro’s announcement that it will create a gender neutral Mr Potato Head, simply called, Potato Head, as cultural conservatives everywhere are whining about the latest example of political correctness gone mad. Meanwhile, people are suddenly talking about a toy that, like so many Micronauts and Chatty Cathies, could easily have been […]

A look at the communications and reputation management rationale behind the major champagne deal confirms it as smart business for both parties:Today the news broke that French luxury giant LVMH has purchased 50% of Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac ‘Ace of Spades’ champagne. The deal has generated global business news headlines and has been applauded as […]

I love technobabble in space movies. One of my favourite scenes from Apollo 13 is when Tom Hanks recreates the infamous, ‘Houston, we have a problem’ moment, which I remember hearing on the radio as a child. What follows is a barrage of technical language and spaceship jargon that only an engineer at Space X […]

Captain Sir Tom Moore—whose fundraising efforts raised an incredible £33 million for the effort against COVID-19—has died at the venerable age of 100. Though his legacy is undisputed—he is a war hero whose optimism and lust for life inspired the nation—the story nonetheless has an ambivalent resonance, not least because Captain Tom’s legacy will be […]

In the past week, individual traders have shown that they too can use a tactic from the hedge funds’ arsenal, and put on the ‘short squeeze’—on Wall Street itself.But if this is going to be more than a story about David v. Goliath—the big, tech-savvy investment giants v. the sparky, individual traders of the internet—Wall […]

Pfizer just unveiled a new corporate identity, completing a lengthy process. Thousands participated in focus groups, hundreds of possible designs were considered, and multiple agencies and brand consultancies gave their ideas. The company wants to communicate that it’s no longer just a pill. The new design is meant to represent the new technology they offer, […]

Public confidence in the government’s coronavirus response is at an all-time low—and for good reason. The cabinet’s communications have been piecemeal, difficult to follow, and subject to last-minute revision.The latest assurances that the military will be called in are no real improvement—Ben Wallace’s announcement was more parade, without any substance.The disastrous consequences of this lacklustre […]

This week, BrewDog made the visionary decision to offer (and to announce that it was offering) its 50 or so closed pub locations to help with a roll out of the Coronavirus vaccine.Whereas other business leaders have met the latest announcement with more grovelling for support, this response is truly epic. It makes the best of a […]

Johnny Depp took one hell of a gamble – and he’s lost out. In fact, everyone involved has lost. Now, in the aftermath, we have the immovable object of the words ‘wife beater’ experiencing the pressure of an irresistible force – Depp’s super-fans. That international fanbase worked to protect their icon – ensuring that #JusticeForJohnnyDepp […]

In turbulent times decision makers in any industry – be it CEOs, politicians, film directors or football managers- will fall back on tactics which served them well in the past, even if that past is growing distant and the tactic dating doublequick. The mechanism behind this decision is simple: the greater the desperation, the less […]

Shaun Bailey is in an interesting position. Standing for Mayor against an incumbent he is months out and 22 points behind in the polls with finances no doubt stretched to breaking point by the extended race. With no money or momentum – it’s now or never.Under this pressure, we get a glimpse of the true […]

Is this a coronavirus fever dream or is Boris Johnson once again stumbling into a PR battle with Marcus ‘Leader of the Opposition’ Rashford?Johnson has just rejected Rashford’s campaign for school meals over half-term on the grounds that: “We’re in a different position now with schools back open to all pupils… It’s not for schools […]

Hot on the heels of the Chancellor patronisingly asking artists across the country to retrain in order to survive Covid – not taking the time to think that many struggling actors already hold part-time jobs.Just last week Fatima, the ballerina (actually a stock photo from the internet of a dancer from Atlanta) is told that […]

Burger King got rave reviews for its latest ad-campaign where it sponsored Stevenage FC in order to launch a challenge on FIFA. Hoping that the digital image of Sergio Ramos holding a cup above his head would grab attention, customers and headlines. Sports bible etc., predictably, loved it.Under even the barest scrutiny it fell apart […]