Accompanied by bands, exuberant revelers marched through downtown Manhattan today singing “Happy Birthday” to Occupy Wall Street, which celebrated its one-year anniversary.

From a PR standpoint, the action was a smashing success. Through clever demonstrations and smart, targeted events, the Occupy movement has established the gold standard for PR.


Santa won't be visiting Zucchotti Park this Christmas
Its shining achievement is to inject the concept of the “99 percent,” income inequality and social justice into America’s consciousness. That’s quite an accomplishment, but as Wendy’s spokesperson Clara Peller used to ask, “Where’s the beef?”

From a policy standpoint, rudderless OWS movement is a flop—so far. OWS has failed to channel the power of protest into policy. On the other side of the political spectrum, the Tea Party successfully built on an anti-government platform. It organized and ran scores of candidates who won political seats on the statewide and national levels.

The idealistic OWS crowd has made scant headway on the political front, giving the impression that politics is too tawdry, corrupt or corporatized.

Meanwhile, Tea Partiers have no qualms accepting support from the likes of the conservative Koch Brothers or Dick Armey’s Freedom Works group. The Tea Party is focused on results, not good PR.

The “holier than thou” attitude of OWS has turned off many potential allies. The movement is more interested in tent cities, drum circles and the people’s mic (i.e., human megaphone), rather than the hard slog of political reform. OWS is self-centered. It should be the central organizer of reform.

It’s time for OWS to grow up. How about the launch of a real world-based Re-Occupy Wall Street?