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Toshiba's latest ad campaign portrays medical test subjects as freaks, an approach that puzzled the Association of Clinical Research Organizations. Although most consumers know Toshiba as an electronics company, part of its business in the U.S. is the manufacturing of diagnostic and medical imagining equipment. In fact, Toshiba American Medical Systems is looking for young people—ages 6 months to 18 years of age—to participate in a study to improve the MRI experience, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. Yet a Toshiba ad campaign for its Satellite Ultrabook computer portrays people who take part in clinical trials as freaks. A young man—only slightly older than the people Toshiba Medical Systems seeks for its MRI study—is cast as a “professional medical test subject.” During the 30-second commercial, he is subjected to bizarre experiments that turn him into a purple-faced monster. At one point he refers to the subjects of clinical trials as “test monkeys.”... [A lame ad that won't sell many computers and as a benefit offended an influential group of scientists. Dearth of real creative these days IMHO - JD]
I don’t usually write Pro PR Tips about stories that carry my own byline, but man, I had to hold my nose when I pasted this bit into today’s story about the Yahoo/Facebook patent battle... resolution. From the official press release: "Going forward, Yahoo! and Facebook have agreed to work more closely and collaborate together on multiple tent-pole and anchor events annually over the next several years to provide unparalleled experiences for consumers and world-class sponsorship opportunities for advertisers...."
Mary J. Blige had a dream when she was a kid. It wasn’t too outrageous or impossible to reach. All she wanted to do was be in a commercial for McDonald’s or Burger King. Well, she can scratch it off her list now and try to figure out how the whole became such a nightmare.
When Blige’s commercial for Burger King — part of BK's just-wrapped celebrity campaign for its new menu — came out in April, some attacked the spot touting crispy chicken snack wraps as stereotyping the African American performer. Wrap up all that anger and confusion into a slew of social-media outpouring and you’ had some pretty bad PR for Blige, while BK quickly squelched the affair by pulling the commercial....
Fisker, a luxury car manufacturer hopes the answer is yes. On June 22, Fisker ran several ads in The Wall Street Journal. The ads come after several recalls and embarrassing reviews of its only car on the market, the Karma, a luxury hybrid sports sedan. Since its founding in 2007, Fisker has recalled almost 260 Karmas, while another broke down during testing by Consumer Reports. The incident triggered many complaints from other Karma drivers. Fisker also drew some bad press for accepting a loan from the federal government that sparked comparisons to the bankrupt Solyndra. However, Fisker’s advertising team that consists of two agencies said these ads will introduce the car and offer a “sneak peak of the brand voice” and are not related to the negative attention the car maker has received recently....
Ferrari, the Italian luxury car maker, is embroiled in not only a crisis of brand image in Asia but government, political and diplomatic problems in China and Singapore. What’s more, Ferrari has become a reviled brand example of the disparity in both countries between the powerful, nouveau riche “one percenters” and the ordinary citizens. First, Ferrari staged a publicity stunt to commemorate the country’s 20th year of selling its super-expensive sports cars in China. A red Ferrari was hoisted atop the ancient, 1,400 year old city wall in Nanjing. Once there, a stunt driver revved the powerful engine and spun the Ferrari repeatedly atop the historic wall, causing burned rubber tire tracks that could not be removed. Ferrari never explained the significance of its stunt, which has resulted in widespread public indignation.... [As usual, marketing screws up and creates a PR problem - JD]
Porter Novelli, a public relations and lobbying firm, was awarded a $20 million contract from the Obama administration to promote health reform. Porter Novelli, a public relations and lobbying firm, was awarded a $20 million contract from the Obama administration to promote health reform. “The campaign will inform the American people about the many preventive benefits now available to those with Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act,” a representative from the Department of Health & Human Services told PR Week, which broke the news. Porter Novelli, for those who followed the health reform debate, might be an odd choice to help promote the law. As I reported for ThinkProgress in 2009, the global head of Porter Novelli’s healthcare division manufactured a front group designed to kill public support for health reform. Peter Pitts, soon after being hired by Porter Novelli in two years ago, launched various Tea Party and conspiracy-laced attacks on the Affordable Care Act as the legislation made its way through Congress...
The public relations industry features a low bar for entry and an even lower bar for performance. Were the bars to get any lower, it would be an underground prison, rather than a hell on earth. There is a "school of thought" (a cheap, easy-to-get-into school) in the press release business that press releases should feature SHOCKING headlines, in order to grab the attention of busy reporters. In most cases, this only makes busy reporters want to murder you and/ or your client. In other cases it makes busy reporters simply chuckle at your bizarre incompetence. In this case, both....
The practice of public relations is to subtle, poetic language what a hammer is to a willow tree: not it. These are the PR Dummies. Defending the right to poor taste, every week. When you think "good topics for puns," you immediately think "the death of one's parents," assuming that you are employed as a public relations representative by CouponCodes4U.com. Inheritances: dying faster than your mother. Said the reporter who forwarded us this one, "Get it? 'Dying trend" is a pun on the death of one's parents! Which, tragically, is less lucrative than it used to be."...
An unidentified entrepreneur admits he is trying to profit off Trayvon Martin's death by selling gun range targets featuring the teen whose death has sparked nationwide interest. Although Martin's face does not appear on the paper targets, they feature a hoodie with crosshairs aimed at the chest. A bag of Skittles is tucked in the pocket and a hand is holding a can resembling iced tea. Martin purchased both items minutes before he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in February, according to police.... [Marketers sink to the lowest bad taste for profit - JD]
Global drinks giant Diageo, custodian of iconic brands such as Johnny Walker, Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo, Guinness and Moet & Chandon found itself at the centre of a public relations storm this week after it was alleged that they unfairly intervened at an annual drink industry awards event to prevent a rival from picking up an award. Independent Scottish brewer, BrewDog claimed that the drinks giant Diageo had brought undue pressure to bear on the organizers of the event to override the decision of the judges to give them an award, allegedly stating that ‘under no circumstances could BrewDog be allowed to win’....
The public relations industry is happy to swallow ordinary happy life events, besmirch them, and poop them back out. It is a virtual besmirchment machine. In this press release, CNN Espanol correspondent Naibe Reynoso unambiguously hints at a quid pro quo deal to provide media coverage to any company that will sponsor her "Celebrity Baby Shower." (The "celebrity" referred to here is Naibe Reynoso.) It's right here: "This will be a great opportunity to introduce your products to the mass media as she pitches many of her own stories to the networks and blogs about her favorite products." In other words, Naibe Reynoso would like to use her baby shower as an opportunity for professional graft. Yuck. Everything sic'd... [Turns out NOT her fault; overzealous PR peeps done bad - JD]
"There is no such thing as bad publicity," unless your company's latest advertising campaign completely backfires and angers countless loyal customers.... I asked a panel of successful young entrepreneurs to share a misstep made by a major brand, and what they’ve taken away from the experience as seen from afar. Here’s how they learned from other companies’ mistakes and how they’re using the new knowledge to improve their own businesses. Name one major PR blunder that you’ve seen a major brand make recently. What one lesson should all entrepreneurs learn from their mistake?...
There’s been much speculation about which company is behind the controversial anti-Apple ‘Wake Up’ campaign currently going on in Australia. We previously reported that Samsung might be culpable but RIM has now stepped up and acknowledged that the creation is its.... [Unecessary PR Fail - JD]
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A New York-based public relations firm tried to help the Syrian government “brand” its reforms last year as media reported its crackdown on protesters, according to an email released Friday by WikiLeaks. The firm, Brown Lloyd James, had earlier helped arrange a rosy profile of Syrian first lady Asma Assad in Vogue magazine that praised her as “the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies.” It had been paid $5,000 a month for that work, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act document. Months later, in a memo last May to one of her aides, the firm advised Syria that it needed to buff up its image abroad as decidedly unflattering stories of mass arrests and alleged killings spread in the press.... [Bad PR for PR firm - JD]
The public relations industry is not a spelling bee. The spelling bee nerds went into nerd fields like library science or professional blogging, not the high-powered world of Hollywood PR. This is PR Dummies. (Dommies? Dymmies? Ugh, spellcheck.) To our surprise, we've discovered that there is more than one PR person in Los Angeles who sends out typo-riddled emails. It's not so much the fact that they made a typo; it's that the typos are really special.... [Gawker scores with this bad PR crappola - JD]
"GREAT news for our clients." With that remark, PR manager Tina Alldis's world went into meltdown. The young head of publicity for Mango Communications learnt the true meaning of bad PR after she claimed the changing face of Australia's media landscape was an opportunity to fill newspapers and websites with PR spin. Her remarks, contained in a column on the cuts and restructuring Fairfax and News Ltd announced this week, were slammed as "insensitive", "ignorant" and "harsh".... [Harsh, but poignant lesson - JD]
A PR guy allegedly barricaded the journalist to shield the CEO from questions. The worst media relations gaffe you’ll see all year, maybe all decade—oh, hell, ever . It’s unlikely that many communications positions have the phrase “may be asked to falsely imprison reporters” in the job description, but perhaps Honeywell will want to consider it after this past weekend. Mike Elk, a reporter with In These Times, accuses the company’s external communications director Rob Ferris of barricading him in a room for several minutes when Elk was trying to interview Honeywell’s CEO, Dave Cote....
Here's a press release and PR fail that provide a double take and a serious lesson for every junior public relations pro. Unfortunately, it comes from a big agency that should know better. The headline tells the story: Dismembered bodies and gunned-down landlords: Reminders to screen tenants [One of the worst news releases you'll ever see - JD]
Sometimes PR stunts are just stupid and destined to generate bad PR. It's hard to see how this PETA stunt is in any way effective. More likely it would turn off and turn away core supporters, potential supporters and possible donors. I give it a PR fail.
Basically, it screwed a microbrewer in Scotland and, ultimately, apologized for it. This one is a head-slapper. ...When Diageo learned BrewDog had won the award, it told the event coordinators that if they gave the small brewer the honor, it would pull its sponsorship from the event. The coordinators caved to the demands. The matter blew up in Diageo’s face, as blogs in the U.K. picked up the story and vitriol toward the large company spewed forth on Twitter. Ultimately, Diageo acknowledged the error and issued this apology...
Rush Limbaugh’s Comments Cost Cumulus Millions... Radio broadcaster Cumulus Media says it lost millions of dollars after Rush Limbaugh went on his offensive tirade against Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. Advertisers immediately began distancing themselves from the radio host to the tune of “a couple million” dollars in lost ad revenue....
...Directors need to be not only on top of all that goes on in the companies they serve but also the reputational impact of what they do and what they say. New regulations on things like “say on pay” (as Citigroup recently found out) are just part of the brighter spotlight and great scrutiny on boards. Communications expertise and issues/crisis management counsel must no longer stop at the executive suite. Smart boards, when faced with situations like Chesapeake, need to examine closely not only their words, but the optics, because it all plays out from share price to corporate standing to the bottom line....
Have you heard about the recent barroom brawl at the tony New York Athletic Club? No, well apparently it was a doozie, the likes of which that storied Club has not seen in its almost 150 year history. Apparently it had everything: men from 18 to 80, not-so lady like women, otherwise stuffy bartenders, square-jawed members, hair brained non-members, the police, cowboys and indians. Three arrests. Two hospitalizations. One really pissed off club president.... So what does the Times do? They use this story to debut its new feature “Kids Draw the News.” With this new offering which they call for children under 12 “to render a current event in pictorial form.” WHAT?...
The head of Spirit Airlines, who makes the ex-CEO of BP look like a PR-genius, has learned the high cost of keeping a dying man's $197 airfare. Ben Baldanza, Spirit's tin-eared boss, had been holding firm that the airline would not refund a dying Marine veteran's airfare. The vet' doctors told him he was too sick to fly. Spirit said: tough -- you should have bought insurance. Baldanza, who has a record of contemptuous actions, even called reporters to make his case that it would be a bad precedent to act like Spirit had a heart. As a result a Facebook campaign took off -- eventually with more that 30,000 people pledging never to fly with Spirit. Fox News skewered the airline in a lengthy story yesterday which included PR experts calling Spirit "the airline from hell."... [Classic PR fail, big reputation hit and no surprise the airline finally caved - JD]
The public relations industry is essentially a grand sleight-of-hand trick in which money is extracted from clients in exchange for building a smokescreen of wordplay around a pile of excrement ("the product"). [Gawker adds to its PR Dummies file - JD]
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