A few weeks ago I was reading my daily newspaper, The Sun, when I came across an article in which a journalist was criticizing a PR firm's tasteless attempt to promote its client. The article was about Franklin & Marshall's PR firm, Spin Publicity, trying to cash in on the recently injured Danielle Lloyd. About 3 weeks ago, WAG Danielle Lloyd was pushed into a glass table in a trendy London nightclub, cutting her calf open and loosing vast amounts of blood. The attack was labelled as an horrific incident, mainly due to the number of press pictures the next day showing the former Beauty Queen lying on the pavement covered in blood! And yet out of quite a serious story, Spin Publicity managed to calculate a way to promote their client's brand, the convincing point being an image of Danielle Lloyd and her footballer boyfriend Jamie O'Hara emeging from hospital, both wearing Franklin & Marshall hoodies.
The following press release was sent to The Sun's Bizarre Columnist, Gordon Smart:
"Poor Danielle Lloyd. After being battered in a nightclub, Danielle can now rest up in the comfort of her Franklin & Marshall hoodie.
"Franklin & Marshall is the ultimate in understated American college-inspired casual wear - the perfect recipe for Danielle's recovery. Why not double up and get an identical tracksuit for your boyfriend a la Danielle and top Tottenham player Jamie O'Hara? Get well soon Danielle."
However, instead of ignoring such a blatantly tasteless form of promotion, Smart chose to shame the complany in a centre-page article, claiming their press release was 'ill-advised' and a 'shocking piece of PR opportunism'. This article points out that ironically Danielle Llyod had approached the firm to discuss gifting 6 weeks previously and was told that she was 'not on the brand's celebrity target list'! To which her sokesperson replied, 'If it requires a near-fatal accident to get on 'the target list', the brand has a lot to answer for."
Comically, Gordon Smart refers to Leila Fataar, owner and founder of Spin Publicity, as a 'dippy fashion type', which in the light of her apology statement seems about right: " We spotted it in the paper yesterday and decided to send it out to fashion Press so they could see the latest samples. It wasn't meant maliciously."
Not surprisingly, Franklin & Marshall terminated their contract with Spin Publicity two days later claiming that they were 'not informed' about the press release and would 'never have allowed them to send it' if they were. I chose to look at Spin Publicity's website to see if there was any mention of the scandal, but it seems they are reluctant to even issue a proper apology.
Personally, I think that Spin Publicity acted in bad taste. As a result of the issued press release, Franklin & Marshall recieved very bad press, taking the flak for a choice Spin Publicity made without them. The blatant exploitation of a celebrity who has had a serious accident raises 2 important questions: Firstly, just how far will businesses go to promote their company and product? And secondly, if the pess release had not been criticized publically but published instead, would it still have been recognized as tasteless PR?
Despite the feeling that this was a distasteful attempt to gain PR, I do not feel sorry for Danielle Llyod as in this case, the celebrity in question has exploited herself and others in order to become famous. Therefore it is funny to read that her spokesperson feels 'disgusted by the blatant exploitation of her client's name in awful circumstances'. The hypocrisy almost makes you laugh!
The following press release was sent to The Sun's Bizarre Columnist, Gordon Smart:
"Poor Danielle Lloyd. After being battered in a nightclub, Danielle can now rest up in the comfort of her Franklin & Marshall hoodie.
"Franklin & Marshall is the ultimate in understated American college-inspired casual wear - the perfect recipe for Danielle's recovery. Why not double up and get an identical tracksuit for your boyfriend a la Danielle and top Tottenham player Jamie O'Hara? Get well soon Danielle."
However, instead of ignoring such a blatantly tasteless form of promotion, Smart chose to shame the complany in a centre-page article, claiming their press release was 'ill-advised' and a 'shocking piece of PR opportunism'. This article points out that ironically Danielle Llyod had approached the firm to discuss gifting 6 weeks previously and was told that she was 'not on the brand's celebrity target list'! To which her sokesperson replied, 'If it requires a near-fatal accident to get on 'the target list', the brand has a lot to answer for."
Comically, Gordon Smart refers to Leila Fataar, owner and founder of Spin Publicity, as a 'dippy fashion type', which in the light of her apology statement seems about right: " We spotted it in the paper yesterday and decided to send it out to fashion Press so they could see the latest samples. It wasn't meant maliciously."
Not surprisingly, Franklin & Marshall terminated their contract with Spin Publicity two days later claiming that they were 'not informed' about the press release and would 'never have allowed them to send it' if they were. I chose to look at Spin Publicity's website to see if there was any mention of the scandal, but it seems they are reluctant to even issue a proper apology.
Personally, I think that Spin Publicity acted in bad taste. As a result of the issued press release, Franklin & Marshall recieved very bad press, taking the flak for a choice Spin Publicity made without them. The blatant exploitation of a celebrity who has had a serious accident raises 2 important questions: Firstly, just how far will businesses go to promote their company and product? And secondly, if the pess release had not been criticized publically but published instead, would it still have been recognized as tasteless PR?
Despite the feeling that this was a distasteful attempt to gain PR, I do not feel sorry for Danielle Llyod as in this case, the celebrity in question has exploited herself and others in order to become famous. Therefore it is funny to read that her spokesperson feels 'disgusted by the blatant exploitation of her client's name in awful circumstances'. The hypocrisy almost makes you laugh!
No comments:
Post a Comment