A weekly roundup of media news and talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the Week

“Nothing reinforces a professional relationship more than enjoying success with someone.” U.S. screen legend Harold Ramis, who passed away at the age of 69 on 28th February.

Weekly High

Although at the time of writing the world was still waiting with ‘baited’ breath to find out exactly why this was done, given the global coverage Nandos has received following the restaurant chain’s borrowing of Queensland Australia’s Big Mango (a giant mango-cum-tourist trap thought to be worth AU$90,000) it seemed only right to crown the PRs responsible champions this week. As a complete aside, apparently The Big Banana, The Big Mandarin and The Big Prawn can also be found Down Under. Not too sure what all the oversized food attractions are about.

 

Weekly Low

Last night’s edition of BBC political talk show This Week was themed on Ghost Busters, but didn’t bother referencing star of the movies (and Groundhog Day director) Harold Ramis, who died on Monday- a blatant bandwagon jump in bad taste if you ask us. Nevertheless, Harriet Harman gets today’s booby prize, what with the National Council for Civil Liberties smear campaign. Whether her time with the organisation in the 1970s can really be connected to a jaw-droppingly controversial, now disbanded campaign group called Paedophile Information Exchange is irrelevant- after Patricial Hewitt, who’s also caught in the scandal, apologised for any (inadvertent) involvement Harman should have done the same. Looks like someone needs a lesson in public image maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359j9pxmAIk

Stories to keep an eye on

*Following her abysmal recent album, allegedly the biggest loss ever made by a record company, Lady Gaga has outraged fans by attempting to perpetuate the myth that her forthcoming tour is selling out. In actual fact tickets were moved from Ticketmaster to a sister site, with thousands also held back, to create the illusion of sales, confirming how quickly the pop performer’s bubble is deflating. 
*In light of the fact many members do not vote Labour, Unite- Great Britain and Ireland’s biggest workers union- is considering a £1.5million cut in its funding to the political party, sending the shadow cabinet et al into panic mode as they try to figure out how they can fill the gap.
*A working replica of the Tumbler vehicle driven by Batman in The Dark Knight Rises– has been built and is now on sale for $1million. The firm responsible said: “we have built this insane vehicle to be street legal however please understand that this is not a daily driver!”

Just in case you missed it…

Smoking Gun PR’s monthly newsletter went out yesterday, focusing on poor media relations in light of MasterCard’s BRIT Awards mess, 6 things you need to know about social media right now, our work for HEXBUG, and what makes LEGO so loveable. Take a look at February’s stories here. 

If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!