It's time for fourthmeal

As if American's weren't fat enough Taco Bell has decided that we should be eating a fourth, late night, fat-laden meal. Well, we were probably already doing it, but Taco Bell decided to capitalize on this trend by making it their own with the fourthmeal campaign. The problem with doing this is that it normalizes something that previously wasn't as accepted.

Yeah, Americans were eating unhealthy, over-processed abundant amounts of calories before the Taco Bell campaign. But, once there is a name for the act, fourthmeal, and it becomes part of the vernacular, the act itself is normalized. I'm sure some people think that I'm being an uptight health freak. Fast food is ok, once in a while, for the young and fit people shown in the ads. But, in reality the majority of Americans are overweight and inactive. The consequences of promoting eating another fast food meal are real and disastrous.

I know the campaign is all in the name of creative marketing. But don't companies have a responsibility to question how their great marketing scheme affects public health? We've had outrage over campaigns that normalize youth smoking or binge drinking. What about campaigns that normalize and promote the obesity epidemic?

Um...that's why its called politics

For any sleeping beauties who have been totally out of it for the last few years, the presidential election is coming. And, is bound to look a lot different from any presidential election we've ever seen before, thanks to the advent of social media. What impact will blogging have on the up-coming election?

Looking at Hillary Clinton's blog , the tone of candidate blogging is clear. Her blog reads more as a fan site than an actual discussion. But, what can be expected from a politician. Do we really think that a presidential candidate would post anything personal, discussion-worthy, controversial or indicative of weakness? Sadly, no. Can we expect candidate blogs to be, as linfar writes on daily kos,

"...an open playing field and open to all sorts of opiners, that is folks with opinions."?

Again, sadly, no.

linfar suggests that candidate blogs need to make it clear that the posts are a part of the campaign and are approved messages from the politicians. Duh. If you visit a politician blog don't expect to see anything that isn't approved by the politician's PR people.

I don't think that the up-coming elections will be revolutionized by the blogs available on the candidate's websites. These blogs are just another channel for the politicians to send out the same old messages. But, that doesn't mean that all sorts of unsanctioned blogs about the elections won't pop up everywhere. I think that this is where we will have the real discussions and where we will see the real insights.

It's not a new concept. You won't get the straight story from the politician. It's politics because there is an agenda, and the blog isn't going to post anything that goes against that agenda. The official blogs aren't the ones to monitor. The real news will come from the people, just as it always has. But, now the people have a new method for getting out their message and promoting discussion.

"The Daily Show": Good American PR?

I read on The New York Times blog this morning that "The Daily Show" episodes will be fully archived on thedailyshow.com. First I mulled over the affect that being able to view years worth of episodes at the touch of a button might have on my motivation to get anything done. Then I fantasized about having hours and hours worth of John Stewart at my finger tips, but I don't want to disturb anyone with those details.

My third thought was about the popularity, both here and abroad, of American's making fun of America. I noticed this when I was studying abroad in Sweden and everyone gathered around the television to watch The Simpson's every night. The popularity of The Simpsons and The Daily Show in other countries shows that non-Americans enjoy seeing that we have the ability to make fun of ourselves.

In a way the exportation of these types of shows is a clever way of bolstering America's reputation, maybe better than actual government-sponsored PR campaigns.

It's kind of like how there could be the perfect popular girl. She is beautiful, charismatic, fun, smart etc. Now, if you give that girl a self-deprecating sense of humor and the ability to make fun of her position as ms. popular? Her likability factor would multiply by 100.

I think that everyone like to see the U.S make fun of itself too. I'm not saying we are ms. popular, because we definitely are not. But as a country we do have the world power that ms. popular would have at her high school. It's not as funny when everyone else makes fun of us. People want to see that we are capable of ripping on our own flaws. There is nothing worse than a ms. popular who takes herself to seriously.

Maybe this is an important PR message. What would happen if the ms. populars of the corporate world were able to see their flaws, display them, make fun of them and then eventually try to identify how to fix them? Instead of trying to always present a perfect image and cover up any flaws, why not expose them in a humorous way? Or if the corporation isn't willing to do this themselves, what impact could a John Stewart-like character have on the public's perception of the company?

Would it really be a disaster to have a flaw or weakness exposed? If the organization can embrace the flaw I think that it might show the public a more human, honest and transparent side.

I think that The Simpson's and John Stewart are two of our most valuable international ambassadors. They show the world that we DO in fact see how stupid we are sometimes, and that is an admirable quality.

PR is growing not dying

Lately it seems like there have been a lot of questions about the future of the media, advertising, PR and marketing. One of the latest related buzzes is around Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley Watcher's post Wiley E Coyote: Traditional PR is running on thin air.


In response to Tom's post Engage in PR published some interesting thoughts.

"For too long we lived a symbiotic relationship with publications, broadcast and even bloggers. Pure reliance on another industry to sustain your own is a recipe for enormous highs, lows, and eventual withering."

I have to address /kkf of Engage in PR's use of the word symbiotic

I think the term that best fits the PR/media relationship is mutualism, a form of symbiosis in which both parties benefit from the interaction. It seems /kkf writes with the impression that the PR/media relationship is a form of parasitic symbiosis, where one party benefits at the expense of the other. But, simply saying that the PR industry has pure reliance on publications, broadcast and even bloggers is hugely over-simplifying the issue. Symbiotic mutualism would mean that just as PR has this dependence, publications, broadcast and bloggers are as equally dependent on PR for their survival.

I don't think that mutual dependence is necessarily a negative thing. Isn't that the basis for having a healthy relationship? There are benefits for both of us in this relationship. Lets work on getting back to this mutual relationship with the media. How can we find our way back to a place where it isn't just PR depending on the media, but also the media appreciating and understanding the role that good PR plays in supporting the media? I think a little more mutualism is what we need. How we get there is another post all together.

An example of mutualism at work? This is an excerpt from a real thank you note written from a local media outlet to the internal PR department of a local organization. (Details have been omitted)

"just wanted to THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH
for all your help this morning!! I'm always EXCITED when I have a _______
story to cover and I can turn to _______! Your Public Relations Department is
SO ORGANIZED, SO DEPENDABLE and SO EFFICIENT. YOU always know exactly what
we need...even when it comes to b-roll and visuals!!

The _________ we interviewed today was GREAT and the _____ worked out really
well too. So, again, THANK YOU!! Hope to work with you again SOON!!"

Just because things are changing and people are having to ask important questions doesn't meant that PR is dying. The only industries that die are the ones that can't adjust to change. But, I have more faith in PR. It won't die, hopefully it will grow and change.

/kkf writes that the industry is shifting towards more internal PR. I think this could be a positive thing. Having people on the inside who truly understand and ARE your organization, be the ones to establish relationships with publics? Genius! Why didn't we think of this before. So, no I don't think it is the death of PR. PR agencies on the other hand...?

Voted most likely to trip over their gown at graduation

I have to say I've always been suspicious of bloggers. It always seemed like people deluding themselves with the thought that the masses actually care about their opinions. I guess I understand the arguments about blogging revolutionizing the democratic process and changing the way we communicate and receive information. For example, the recent reports that much of the information we are receiving about the violence in Myanmar is thanks to the Internet and blogs. But for every worthy blog there are probably 10 that are filled with rants that just scream "too much time on my hands." I've kept a journal since seventh grade that is full of all my idiotic rants about boys, parents, friends and the world, but I never kidded myself with the thought that other people would want to hear about it. But I guess in the era of reality television there are people who are eager to broadcast their lives and peer into the lives of others.

So, if I feel this way why am I blogging? Basically its for a class. But, that doesn't mean I won't enjoy every minute of it.

This is my attempt to stand on my online piece of the soap box. Although, after being voted "most likely to trip over their gown at graduation" in High School I understand that I would most likely be stumbling over the soap box. This is me, preaching to the world and laughing at myself trying to be taken seriously as I fall on my face.