Random, unprompted public endorsement of a brand is every PR exec's dream - or worst nightmare. Seeing these pictures of Prince William casually turning his hand to a spot of Wii Tennis whilst on an official visit this week gave me a bit of a chuckle. On the one hand, Wills appears to be the kind of money-can't-buy dream 'sleb' endorser as, gurning with excitement, he challenges a boy to a game or two on Nintendo's famous console. On the other, his blatant disregard for basic gaming safety - notice the cavalier way he is branding that controller wrist strap-less - is certainly sending out the wrong message to fellow gamers...
This sort of organic endorsement reminded me of all that trouble that clothing brand Hackett went through a few years ago. Once the preserve of the well-heeled rugby-playing gent, a glut of Euro 2000 football hooligans sporting the brand's heavy-fonted signature polo shirts whilst being carted off in handcuffs was clearly not the kind of publicity they were seeking. The tailor now enjoys the rather dubious accolade of having its own entry in the 'Urban Dictionary' as being (note the beauty in the turn of phrase):
"An English brand of clothing which is normally worn by footy hooligans. Hackett wearers are usually racist. The clothes are well smart and most have numbers on them."
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