For Fuks Saké

PR Case Studies ref: McClaren '08

When you start a new job, don't pretend to be someone you're not. Like pretend to be Dutch. Or simply be a twat. Full marks to the Mirror for bringing this to our attention.

It's Still A Girl's Game

Lacoste...tennis 75 years from now.

The 00's: Remembered For Music, Or Technology?

I saw this question on a forum and it got me wondering, will the 00's (I loathe the word noughties) be remembered for the technological advancements in music, rather than the music itself?

The 50s gave us rock 'n' roll, the 60's pop/rock/psychedelia, the 70's glam/funk/disco/punk, the 80's more punk/more disco/new romantics/hip-hop/acid house/indie/baggy/shoegaze the 90's more shoegaze/more indie/grunge/britpop/trip-hop/gangster rap/trance/techno/post rock etc... (not an exhaustive list by any means) but this decade...Coldplay-esque stadium rock? Won't the decade be remembered for the iPod and file-sharing instead?

Is there an exhaustion? I've struggled to come up with a better answer than electro, which to be honest is merely a sub-genre of dance. When was the last band to come out, and the world just collectively went "....WTF!"? The Klaxons? Maybe, but then I think their sound is just following on from early Acid House.

I guess my point is, where will the next sub-genre come from? Will we look back at the present and say to ourselves "I remember when all you could download was an mp3. An MP3!!!!" Maybe the reason I can't think of where the future of music is going to from is cos I'm sat here in an office, and not holed up in a studio, with Dr. Dre (who's Detox album, I'm very confident, will bend my head) actually trying to find the answer.

Dave Macnamara

You Don't See This Too Often Either

Fire alarm goes off during C4 News. Krishnan whatever his name is, does a runner.

You Don't Get This Kind Of Stuff On ITV

BBC Sport have unveiled their Gorillaz work for the Beijing games. There's all sorts of widgets, gizmos and irritants around the main characters Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy.

Have a look at this though....the 2 minute movie that will form the basis of their opening titles for the Olympic Games.

15 days to go - personally, can't wait. The sanctimonious whining of anyone from Spielberg to Konnie Huq can be parked to one side. Seeing China have its well deserved moment in the sun will be captivating, breathtaking and awe-inspiring. Londoners are about to get a big wake-up call.

Got My Mind Set On You

My first ever blog post for all those irrational enough to want to listen to the mind of Proudlock, which takes me nicely into the topic of said blog post, irrationality.

This week I have been reading, Irrationally by Stuart Sutherland (link below) to save me from the mind numbing, retardation of free newspaper reading. And it is amazing how unbelievably irrational we all are and fascinating the lengths we go to justify our irrationality to ourselves.

Take this example:

"The rivalry between groups may be so irrational that each may try to do the other down even at its own expense. In an aircraft factory in Britain the toolroom shop stewards tried to preserve this difference, even when by doing so they would receive a smaller wage themselves. They preferred a settlement that gave them £67.30 a a week and the production workers a pound less, to one that gave them an extra two pounds (£69.30) but gave the production workers more (70.30)"

Unbelievable! But leads to the question "do we all compete with people to our own detriment?"

Are you competing with someone for that promotion or to catch the eye of a certain someone? Are you sure it is the path to success? Are you even sure that it is actually what you want?

Brands are you so busy fighting the competition on micro issues that you have lost sight of the bigger issue? Being the best! Or at least yourself.

If you are constantly looking at the competition and reacting to what they do, how can you really be yourself? How can you produce your best? And most importantly why would anyone take notice of you?

David Proudlock

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irrationality-Stuart-Sutherland/dp/1905177070/ref=sr

_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215784326&sr=8-1

PR Case Studies ref: Mosley '08/Davies '03

The High Court is currently deciding whether this was a 'sick Nazi sex orgy' or not. Best leave that for them to decide - but you can draw your own conclusions by reviewing the News of the World's footage here.

Nevertheless, if my memory serves me correctly Mosley's original defence was that he was speaking German because the prostitutes were "native German speakers." Very plausible - and for those of us in PR, an outstanding piece of crisis management.

For PR students visiting 4 Fuks Saké for some industry learning, I recommend you dig into the archives and have a look into the defence of former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, back in 2003. We all learnt a lot from Ron.

Despite a "moment of madness" on Clapham Common back in 1998, Ron was under the spotlight again one Monday morning some five years later. The Sun published a story reporting that Davies had pulled off the M4, visited a notorious cottaging spot outside Bath and had "gay sex in the woods" with a man. Ron was able to clarify his actions, claiming that he had merely been stretching his legs in an area where he regularly indulged his hobby of "badger spotting."

I hear it said sometimes that PR lacks creativity. Mosley and Davies categorically answer those critics.

Stay In All Night You'd Never See Them

Spain. Possibly Holland. Anyone But Germany.

Deep down, other than Brian Glanville, James Richardson and the 3 subscribers of World Soccer, who really gives a shit about Euro 2008?

BBC Sport are giving it the best possible shot. Their campaign is a cracker. Simple insight (no-one's got anyone to supoort therefore they won't care), matched with simple idea (who will you support?), execute it smartly (like they always do) and then throw the kitchen sink at it (the campaign is everywhere on telly and online). There's just a chance with them, that this won't be buried on BBC3 alongside Garth Crooks.

Come Friday night and a few pints, my mates and I have all agreed that all of us are alright at being marketers / PRs / accountants / fund managers / solicitors / whatever. But we'd all be geniuses if we were given the chance to do the music for the all the montages on Football Focus. I don't think so somehow.

Here's the trailer.
Here's their Top 10 Euro goals.
Here's their video archive.
Here's the blog.
Here's their Twitter feed.
Here's their Flickr stream.
Here's their Youtube channel.
Here, even, are the opening titles from Euro '96.

Asian Intelligence

How to get instantly smart on Asia, the Internet and other things. Norman Lewis: "To See The Future of the Internet, Look East," in the excellent Spiked.