Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks does it again…..Tom Hanks and wife, Rita Wilson, announced March 11, 2020 that they had been diagnosed with COVID-19. His Instagram message occurred at a time when few people knew anything about the virus.

He posted: “Well, now. What to do next? The medical officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.”

A survey released Feb. 4, 2021 by two Penn State and Washington State professors and conducted the day after the actor’s Instagram post found that 90 percent of respondents heard about his diagnosis and about half of them said they had changed their attitudes about COVID-19 because of it.

The researchers concluded that Hanks “highlighted the reality of COVID-19” and broadened their understanding of not only the severity of the situation, but also their susceptibility to the illness.

After his image was used to plug a dental plan, Hanks is now using his high-profile and credible brand to warn about the dangers of artificial intelligence.

“Beware! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it," he posted on Instagram.

Here we go again. Hanks has raised the profile of AI beyond the worlds of technology and communications. He uses his everyman celebrity well.

The Public Relations Society of America should convince Tom to become its honorary chair.

Journos for Ukraine. The Society of Professional Journalists has established a fund to support embattled journalists in Ukraine.

Sixty-six journalists have been killed since the launch of the invasion, ten of them while carrying out their reporting duties.

Russia’s secret police has rounded up another 22 journalists in its quest to suppress the free flow of information.

Those kidnap victims are currently being held in Ukrainian territory that is currently occupied by the Russians.

The war also has resulted in the shutdown of 233 media outlets and the seizure of equipment at other editorial offices.

SPJ Foundation president Hagit Timor said contributions to the fund will help publications reopen to deliver the vital information that citizens need. “They deserve the insight that can only come from local journalists who are able to report independently,” added Limor.

SPJ is working in conjunction with the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. Click to donate.

Thank you, John Kelly. Donald Trump’s former chief of staff has forcefully reminded America of the threat that his ex-boss poses to US democracy, if he gets re-elected.

On the day that fraudster Trump spewed nonsense and hate against the New York attorney general and judge involved in his civil trial, Kelly told CNN’s Jake Tapper:

“A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family—for all Gold Star families—on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.

“A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women. A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

“There is nothing more that can be said. God help us."

The US and the world owe Kelly a huge debt of gratitude.

Upward and onward in Adland. Edelman Hong Kong has developed billboards in which the marketing message only becomes visible when a person shakes her head.

The billboards support the launch of KFC’s “FING FING Cajun Chips” that are served with a packet of seasoning to be mixed for enhanced flavorings. Fing Fing means “shake” in Cantonese

The ad press praised the Edelman work as a fun and interactive way to connect with consumers and generate buzz online.

Edelman is pretty crafty for a PR firm.