By Arthur Solomon
It would take a book, a very large one, to highlight the top PR blunders of 2010.
But why should I be different from all those self-assured, self-proclaimed "Wizards of Wall Street," political pundits, economists, in-laws and sports analysts who are always certain that their opinions are omnipotent. And in our little acre of the universe, the PR crisis communications oracles (who ad-infinitum predicted Tiger Woods’ demise unless he followed their unsolicited advice).
So here are my undeniable, undisputable, indubitable only what I say are the top PR mistakes of 2010.
PETA launched a new ad campaign featuring Michelle Obama without asking for her permission, upsetting the White House. And a week or so later launched an advertisement with the NBA’S Gilbert Arenas, suspended by the Washington Wizards for making fun of his gun-play in the locker room.
Result: Reinforced PETA as an organization that believes the long-discredited aphorism of “any publicity is good publicity as long as my name is spelled correctly.”
The theatrical version of Baseball’s Three Stooges – Mark McGwire, Commissioner Bud Selig and St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa – received closing the show reviews from the media for their performances in McGwire’s “coming clean” act, when he acknowledged, at last, that he used performance enhancing steroids.
McGwire’s not-too-well written script claimed that he only used steroids for health reasons and that they had no effect on his hitting a baseball. La Russa said that McGwire is a great example of how working hard produces good results and Selig proclaimed that the steroid-era in baseball is clearly a thing of the past.
Result: Critics said that McGwire’s confession was disingenuous. But the harshest review was leveled at Selig by Tavis Tygart, chief of the U.S. anti-Doping Agency. Tygart opined in the New York Times that what Selig said sounded like the “same stick-your-head-in-the sand” approach that led to this whole mess. (This along with the Tiger Woods' revelations, are prime examples of what I often advise clients that it is dangerous to tie a program too closely to an individual athlete.)
Keep America Safe, the conservative advocacy organization co-founded and run by Liz Cheney, issued a video that referred to Justice Department lawyers that formerly worked on behalf of terror suspects as the “Al Qaeda Seven.”
Result: The video was attacked by a group of conservatives who truly believe in keeping America safe, but not the Cheney way. Former Bush Administration officials, including Kenneth W. Starr, the former special prosecutor of the Clinton impeachment hearings, Peter D. Keisler and Larry D. Thompson, formerly of the attorney general’s office, and David B. Rivkin Jr. of the Federalist Society all signed a letter saying that there is an American tradition of lawyers defending unpopular clients dating back to John Adams defense of British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.
The Israeli government announced that new settlements would be constructed during Vice President Joe Biden's visit.
Result: It provided the Obama administration with an opportunity to unleash a full-fledged diplomatic attack on democratic Israel to the delight of Israel's totalitarian mid-east enemies.
The Vatican once again did not come clean and attemped to cover-up new child abuse exposes by priests, until the stories made headlines in the U.S. and Europe.
The Vatican also attacked the New York Times for unbalanced reporting and the Vatican’s chief exorcist said the Times' coverage was “prompted by the devil.”
In addition, it was reported by the Italian press that some Catholic groups believe a New York Jewish lobby is responsible for the attacks on the Pope. But in the April 3 Wall Street Journal, conservative columnist Peggy Noonan opined that the media were late in reporting the abuse story because non-Catholic reporters didn’t want to be accused of
“Catholic-bashing.” To make matters worse, if possible, during a Good Friday sermon, Pope Benedict’s personal preacher equated the child abuse scandal to the “collective violence” suffered by the Jews, neglecting to mention that child abuse is a crime and the violence against the Jews led to the Holocaust.
Result: As in the past, the new revelations put the Church on the defensive and even pointed fingers at the Pope’s inaction, when as archbishop of Munich 30 years ago, he allowed the transfer of a molester of boys, allowing him to remain working until mid-March.
A Vatican spokesman said the preacher’s remarks regarding the Jews were not the Church’s official position. But that didn’t mollify advocates for the abuse victims, who were irate that the church depicted itself as a victim, and by Jewish groups, who said equating sexual abuse with anti-Semitism was “a grotesque comparison” and “shameful.” Also, Church officials in the U.S. expressed displeasure of the Vatican’s handling of the entire situation.
Fox News promoted rapper/actor LL Cool J and country singer Toby Keith interviews as highlights of a Sarah Palin special, “Real American Stories.” Both celebrities were surprised at the announcement since Palin hadn’t interviewed them; old interviews were being used without Fox notifying the pair.
Result: The situation added to the belief that Fox News isn’t forthcoming in its news presentation and received wide media attention.
General Motors proudly announced that it had repaid ahead of schedule, with interest, in newspapers and on television commercials, $6.7 billion in loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments. But GM “forgot” to mention that was only about 10 percent of the money the company received.
Result: Media reports, including a front-page story and an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, reminded GM about the money they forgot to mention.
GOP leaders feigned outrage at Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP that Obama was shaking down BP for $20-billion dollars to cover claims from their oil spill.
Result: Barton was forced to says his remarks was misconstrued, but media reports said that he was only toeing the GOP line of the previous day, when the Republican Study Committee (composed of more than 100 House members) called it a “Chicago-style shakedown.”
General Stanley McChrystal forgot that a reporter’s job is to report and let one into his inner circle, ignoring "the nothing is off the record rule."
Result: The general lost his job and a heightened caution between corporate executives and reporters will be the result.
GOP Sens. Jon Kyl and Jim DeMint alleged that Democratic Sen. Harry Reid was being "sacrilegious and disrespectful" to Christmas, when the Majority Leader threatened to keep the Senate in session through Christmas, if necessary, to bring up START, the new arms control treaty with Russia.
Result: Criticism from some prominent Christian leaders that the GOP senators would use Christmas as a excuse to derail a bill that is intended to achieve peace on earth, especially during the Christmas season.
.
Israel, because of a "technical mistake," barred five Palestinian firefighters who helped put out a devastating forest fire from reentering the country to attend a ceremony intended to honor them.
Result: The mistake received international media coverage and opened Israel to criticism.
President Obama, without knowing all the facts, said that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" concerning the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Result: Elevated a one day local happening into an on-going national racial media story, which detracted from Obama's health care PR messages.
Definitely Worth Mentioning:
Fib (or Wishful Thinking) Of The Year Award: To President Obama for saying the U.S. combat mission in Iraq is over.
Inaccuracy in Media Awards: To the many political pundits who keep on making predictions without mentioning how many of their last prognostications are wrong.
The Bloom is Wilting Award? To the formerly untouchable Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet. Testifying at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission about credit rating firms, he said that he did not know much about that sector, even though he controls Berkshire Hathaway, the largest shareholder in Moody’s Investors Service, which he defended. Previously, he had supported Goldman Sachs management and the use of derivatives.
Good God!!!!Award: Tie between Pat Robertson for saying that the Haitian earthquake happened because Haiti made a deal with the devil and former Fox anchor Brett Hume saying that Tiger Woods has to turn to the Christian faith for forgiveness and redemption.
Foot-in-Mouth Award: To Chris Matthews for saying that, “I forgot he was black tonight for an hour,” when commenting on President Obama’s State of the Union speech.
The "I Can't Believe It Happened To Me" Award: To Joe Miller for his countless legal appeals re his losing the GOP primary in Alaska to write-in opponent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, despite the backing of Sarah Palin and her Grizzly Mommas.
Most Appropriate Political Candidate Song Of The Year Award: "Witchcraft," (with apologies to Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh).
Best Quote Award: After Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that the NCAA should bar any team that fails to graduate at least 40 percent of their players from participating in the Final Four, my wife, Judie, said, “but then there might not be enough teams to participate.”
So, as someone most assuredly said, "I respect your right to disagree with me, as long as you acknowledge that I'm correct."
* * *
Arthur Solomon is a former newsman and senior VP at Burson-Marsteller. He is available at [email protected].
|