Blagger's Blog- Unpaid interns, Bell Pottinger, back to school

Quote of the Week

Weekly High

Petit Bateau’s new advert has all the right ingredients for back to school week- Plastic Bertrand on the soundtrack, a hectic montage showing just how much strain children put their clothes (and parents) under, and one clear message- this brand’s clothing won’t give up at the first sign of an inbound seven-year-old.

Weekly Low

Multinational PR giant Bell Pottinger is expected to go into administration on Monday, with hundreds of jobs on the line if a buyer is not found. The struggling agency is caught up in controversy surrounding its involvement in stirring up South African racial tensions, and the founder, Lord Bell, appeared on Newsnight to answer questions this week. A brutal grilling, this is a major blow to the reputation of the comms sector, and to make matters even more painful he forgot to turn his phone off.

Need to know

• Facebook has topped the list of the UK’s most recommended employers, compiled by recruitment specialist Glassdoor.
• Vodafone is launching a new sub brand, Voxi, specifically aimed at under-25s, but denies ‘stereotyping millennials’.

Just in case you missed us

This week we’ve been blogging on the news that Facebook has admitted to selling $100,000 of advertising to a Russian ‘troll farm’, which used the space to spread (dis)information in the run up to the US presidential election. More specifically, we’ve been blogging on what this means for trust in the network, and the implications for brands.

The Blagger’s Blog is Smoking Gun PR’s weekly roundup of media news, sans effort

Looking for more advice on PR, social media, and marketing? Why not get in contact or submit a brief to inject a little ingeniousness into your brand.

Rick Guttridge

Founder and CEO

Rick Guttridge is the Founder and CEO of Smoking Gun, the PR, influencer and social media agency built around a clear belief: communications should not just create noise, but prove measurable business impact. With more than 25 years’ experience in PR, Rick has helped major brands improve visibility, likeability and memorability through ingenious communications across sectors including FMCG, pets, homes and interiors, mother & baby, health and wellbeing, and personal finance.

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