I do love year-end round-ups. I’m about as guilty as anyone when it comes to devouring the Top 5 this or the Top 10 that. Round-ups provide us with a snapshot of the year that was — and in this case, a reminder of what happens when PR goes oh-so-wrong.
Just when you think, “well nothing could top last year’s disasters, 2014 brings us a fresh new list.
Here were my criteria for the PR disasters:
- Made in Canada PR disaster.
- The fallout initiated front page headlines and created citizen unrest
- News of the PR disaster was picked up by international media
3. Rob and Doug Ford Amazingly – or not! – the Fords make another appearance on our year-end list. You can love to hate them, but there is no doubt these boys know how to keep us talking. Who can forget the Jimmy Kimmel appearance, the police investigations and the one-month stint in rehab? All of which appeared on the front page or the agenda of every evening newscast around the world.
Many PR pros thought perhaps the city’s infatuation with Rob Ford had ended when he re-entered the mayoral race after rehab. Not so. He still captured the lion’s share of the headlines and news coverage, much to the chagrin of the other candidates. Then came his cancer diagnosis, and his brother Doug’s bid to become mayor. If there’s one thing the Ford’s know is this: whatever they do and whatever they say will always be covered by the media.
One actually has to admire their tenacity and ability to ignore any negative narrative that comes their way. Many of us chuckled over their continued repetition of their campaign platform – no matter what the question was – but it clearly worked. Doug Ford’s strong showing in the mayoral election was a surprise to many – except of course to the Fords. Expect more of the same in 2015.
2. Justin Bieber He may be an international sensation, but really, he’s all ours, Canada. Early 2014 saw Bieber run through a series of embarrassing transgressions including: egging his neighbour’s house, drag-racing and being charged with a DUI while in Miami. This was compounded by a series of paparazzi altercations and a petition to have him deported from the United States – which amazingly garnered more than 200,000 signatures.
While much of this is certainly keeping his legal team busy, generating good PR to help reshape his image is generally absent – something I wrote about in this space back in January. To close out the year, Bieber seems to have gone blond to “have more fun.” My prediction? His new hair colour isn’t going to help resurrect his image in 2015 either.
1. Jian Ghomeshi It started with a firing, then the infamous Facebook post and it wasn’t until his lawyer, Marie Henein, shut the media down with her post-court appearance statement that the downward spiral of Jian Ghomeshi stopped – for now.
Initially, the PR strategy of getting out in front of the allegations of sexual violence seemed to work, though not for much longer than 48 hours. All it really did was bring the alleged victims out from the shadows, resulting in a field day of media exposés and rampant speculation.
The chatter has died down for now, but expect #GhomeshiGate to ramp up again with his second court appearance on Jan. 8, 2015. The media’s portrayal of the women who have come forward in this case will be precedent-setting – and could continue to set the tone when it comes to our perception of victims of sexual violence.
Source:: canada.com
