Welcome back Mourinho: Footballing Legend and a True Media Special One
The special one, the mighty Jose Mourinho is back, and with a bang. Love him or loathe him, he is box office. He always reminds me of the legendary Brian Clough: he has the god given talent to deliver a narrative and focus attention. He is the master of the soundbite, his manner excites, beguiles, bewitches, […]
Lessons in PR: If you can Keep your Head when Ifans is Losing His…
Rhys Ifans has been commanding attention for all the wrong reasons, testing the very limits of the notion that there is no such thing as bad publicity. There can have been few publicists who didn’t experience an internal cringe on behalf of the luckless PR that had to deal with his catastrophic interview with The Times. […]
Public Relations the Dark Alchemy of the Social Age
The attack on the soldier on the streets of South East London was truly terrible. The two men who carried out the attack coveted one thing: the oxygen of publicity for their cause. And boy, did they get it. Today’s papers are entirely dominated by sensationalist headlines and language that does nothing to encourage calm […]
Farewell, Golden Balls
We are struggling to come to terms with the news that Lord Beckham of Ongar and Leytonstone has packed away his Adidas Predator LZ boots. His like will not be seen again. His footballing and soccer achievement is extraordinary: who could forget the stunning injury-time free-kick booking England a place in the 2002 World Cup […]
Lessons from Sir Alex: building a cult brand takes balls
As the sun sets on the news that Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to hang up his fabled hair dryer, it is time to consider the lessons the PR industry might learn from his departure. Undoubtedly, Sir Alex was a remarkable leader, true he forged a unique brand personality but his move to take control […]
The Monstrosity of Fame.
Our so-called obsession with celebrities is as old as the cult of saints. But the adoration of flimsy celebrity effigies is now facing a stark reality check, thanks to the revelations of Operation Yew Tree. I am appalled yet weirdly hypnotised by the carousel of failing celebrities. Disgraced household icons, once the essential popular entertainers […]
Suarez, shame and the not-so-beautiful game
The BBC crowned Liverpool player Luis Suarez the king of football controversy yesterday afternoon following the FA’s announcement that they have handed him a massive 10 match ban. The scandal has had scribblers on the sidelines outraged at football’s reputation since. Left, right and centre, commentators have been clamouring to declare that football’s reputation is […]
Fundamentalism and the Dark Arts of Propaganda
As I write this from Los Angeles, the news ticker is awash with the minutiae of the horrific bombing that took place in Boston today as marathon runners crossed the finishing line. Doctors are telling stories of innumerable injuries and amputations; eye witnesses are giving accounts of terror and confusion; the President is offering platitudes […]
Loose tweets sink fleets
For those who have climbed life’s greasy pole of ambition, nothing is quite so wretched as past indiscretions. This week, Paris Brown, Britain’s first youth police crime commissioner, has joined ranks with Paolo Di Canio, facing a flurry of public outrage in light of flippant, childish comments made that have been picked up and elevated […]
Pontiffs and Pyongyang: Putting the 'P' into PR
What have Kim Jong-Un and Pope Francis got in common? Both evoke the interest of a global audience transmitting their message through an attention-grabbing communications medium. As Easter is just past us, it’s only natural that our attentions might turn towards the Vatican at this time of year. The rise and rise of Pope Francis […]
The Ugly Face of the Beautiful Game
Amidst all the high-profile outrage surrounding the Sunderland manager, di Canio’s recent declaration that he is a fascist, I have found myself wondering how a multi-billion pound industry can pay so little attention to its press machine. The rights and wrongs of his political beliefs are probably best debated in another forum, but the simple […]
Cyber Attacks, Smoke Screens and the Modern Propagandist
The world’s problems start with Cy- this week, from cyber-attacks to Cyprus. Big data is the fetish of the day, and the former story proved an ample smoke screen distraction from the thousands of lives left in the lurch by the latter. We love a good story, and while we grow weary of yet another […]
Boris vs Political Homogeny
There is an increasing dissatisfaction amongst the British public with traditional politics and politicians who are perceived as untrustworthy and lacking conviction. Gone are the days of revered and reviled politicians with a cult-like following. In a muddied playing field where the only political colours seem to be varying shades of brown, strong personalities are […]
TED, Googlephobia and the new Imperialism
Yesterday evening, I gave a talk at TEDxWarsaw on my particular breed of Googlephobia. Through the talk I told a cautionary tale about the silent siphoning of our most valuable assets – our behaviours – by the internet’s imperial superpowers and how this translates in our daily lives. The talk received a fantastic response, and […]
Highly Evolved: Brand Survival in the Now! Economy
Software may be eating everything. But one thing that I’ve seen at Advertising Week Europe today is that we’re learning to adapt to these changes with zeal. This morning, Trevor Beattie announced the death of the thirty second advert, advocating a culture of five second segments instead. In the midst of the sea of white […]
Crowd Power and the Future of the Music Industry
The zeitgeist of the modern age is firmly rooted in social networks and crowdsourcing. This has manifested itself in several instances within the music industry in recent years with artists like Radiohead and Amanda Palmer turning to their fan bases for direct support. This trend has crystalised today with the publication of a recent study […]
Advertising horse power: what a moonwalking Shetland pony tells us about the future of comms
And so it was the week where the nation was transfixed by a moonwalking Shetland pony. Racking up nearly four million youtube views, and prompting the Daily Mail to ask ‘Is this the funniest ad of the year?’, Three’s Fleetwood Mac loving, Tina Turner wig wearing equine has taken the blogosphere by storm. My inclination […]
Rules for the Conduct of Public Life
The Truth must dazzle gradually. Or every man be blind. – an interesting aphorism from the pen of Emily Dickinson. Sipping a lukewarm soya latte served by a man wearing a comedy moustache in a breathlessly contemporary Shoreditch caff, a client declared “I guess PR is all about crisis these days”; fascinating point of view. […]
Pop Tarts and Coronets : How brands find rebirth in the Now! Economy
Do we worship celebrities? Maybe. A while ago, a smart wag who was looking for a quick column inch to help promote a book identified a psychological condition: Celebrity Worship Syndrome. An unfortunate malady has developed from this type of homage. Certainly brands seek the endorsement of the gods of sport and entertainment, and over […]
When Blade Runner goes blunt
So why has Stuart Higgins packed his bags and taken the long 12 hour flight to South Africa to wrangle one of the toughest PR gigs of the moment? Benjamin Disraeli said “One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes”. Higgins is no slouch […]