Grasp at Straws and you Might Suck

Tweets from Emanuel Ungaro's show during Fashion Week in Paris, where Lindsay Lohan debuted as creative director, were mostly ambivalent.

While high street labels in Europe and the United States have forged a series of successful collaborations with the likes of Madonna and Kate Moss, Lohan's foray into fashion appears to have been an unmitigated failure.

Wendy Bendoni, fashion director of Stylelens.com forecasting website, said meanwhile that as soon as Lohan's appointment was announced "you could hear everyone who knows anything about fashion saying 'what were they thinking?''

"Usually 'artistic advisor' is something you hear if you were creating a private label for Macys -- not a collection for Paris Fashion Week," she said. "This isn't Target, Walmart or JCPenny's -- this is Fashion Week in Paris."

The backlash to Lohan is the idea that she does not elevate the brand's heritage and does not elevate the creative process since she does not have proper training for such a monumental task. It's a down economy,--I'm sure Ungaro realized the risk of enlisting Lohan and hoped for the best. This is going to take more than some buttoning up.

Read the story here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/10/fashion-critics-rip-lindsay-lohans-ungaro-collection-to-shreds.html

Special Way to Watch "K"

SpecialK

All the buzz says companies that get the most loyal followers have mastered partnering relevent content attached to their brands. It's what makes moms flock to huggies.com to find out tips on taking care of their babies while gently courting the brand.

But how do you do that with food without creating an endless cookbook? Special K which is really just cereal has seemed to have grown beyond just the bowl to bars and drinks.  A gradual rollout it seems, how over time there now is a way to eat Special K for breakfast, lunch and snacks and hey, why not dinner.

But still, how do you GET one to court the whole brand? Look at other successful food brands and innovate.

Special K, which is  really just cereal and has seemed to have grown beyond just the bowl to bars and drinks now does all the same things that Weight Watchers does-- by a providing systematic yet individualized approach to dieting and eating. Now you don't have to shop for a variety of foods by different brands to meet your goal.  Just shop one brand for everything.

Now to Weight Watchers credit they have long had branded products attached to their meal planning tool/ content.  Their model has been copied and innovated  updated.

Let's see who finishes their vegetables and can have dessert.

Does this Tweet Make my Jackass look big?

Has President Obama finally found an issue that could unite both Democrats and Republicans in Washington? Obama was wrapping up an interview with CNBC when he was asked about hip-hop star Kanye West’s bizarre appearance at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards. According to an ABC reporter who later posted the comment on Twitter, Obama called Kanye a "jackass."   


It has become the talk of the Internet─where an incredibly humorous mash-up video, posted below, made the rounds.  The White House has not had any further comment--which is smart PR.  It will ultimately become a classic gaffe  to be shared for years to come and forgotten once the news cycle shifts.

9-11 Terror Plot Story Looks Like Christmas

Christmas is a holiday that falls on the same day every year and everyone knows what to expect. That's why many companies start planning Christmas "messages" in July. Weeks or months before Christmas is the perfect time to plan out campaigns that evoke messages of care, hope and so on.

Let's ignore conspiracy theories for a moment and look at what the real PR story might be around the recent terror raids in NYC.

NYC, the Dept of Homeland security, whomever handles terror stuff-- knew that 9-11 would come and if there was no positive news to report, the city and government would be hit with a barrage of negative stories. But, if the city puts out a story before a "story" can be created, they can, if done right, look good without even trying and everyone feels safe. Now that, is a great message to evoke.

We all knew an Osama tape would emerge and it did. The public's focus was redirected with story of a squashed terror plot that emerged with no arrests, few suspects and even fewer details. Its was great to see the FBI and other departments front and center working to keep us safe even if we have no idea what is going on and no real information has been provided. Whatever they did sure looked important and ultimately made a tape from Osama somehow seem less important --and that's really all that matters. 

This story is a true testament that good PR, if done right can work on any day of the year.

Kanye Swiftly looks Bad

While Kanye West is looking pretty bad right now and fans are reacting, something else is happening that you may not be aware of.

 Searches for Taylor Swift are up. Way UP

Taylor Swift was just introduced ( in an unfortunate way) to a whole new set of fans that will likely check out her music and buy it. She will dominate the news cycle tomorrow in a positive way thanks to Kanye's bad behavior.

Instead of one line about her winning the award for best female Video she'll have a full story focused on her.

Bad behavior and its not always worth spinning.  Sometimes the best PR is to just say you are sorry.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/KanyeMustApologize/

Ellen is the New Paula on Idol

Sometime you have to hit the ball out of the park for people to notice.  Ellen is the not so obvious choice who is sure to bring along her own fans and a group of people who will just be curious to see how she handles herself. And frankly, she will probably just as nice as Paula only funnier. Good job Idol! 

Picture a 24 Million Dollar Cup of Coffee

   

Photographer, Annie Leibovitz's magazine covers for Vanity Fair and Vogue  have made her as famous as her subjects and earned her millions. We recently learned that Leibovitz risks losing the copyright to the images — and her entire life's work — if she doesn't pay back a $24 million loan by--- Today! To many, her decision to gamble the rights to her work seems inexplicable and the story should end with a made for Lifetime TV moment with her either losing everything or somehow coming up with the cash. 

But wait! There's more.

Leibovitz is being sued by an Italian photographer, Paolo Pizzetti.  He claimes that Ms. Leibovitz, used images he photographed without permission or compensation, in an advertising campaign for Lavazza coffee. He is seeking a court order to stop the use of the images, as well as monetary damages for copyright infringement.

I wonder if he heard that Ms. Leibovitz doesn't have any spare cash at the moment?  It actually doesn't matter. By suing her, he's getting some extra ink in the press and Lavazza is seeming a little sweeter. If Annie wasn't under the pressure of her life would we even care about Mr. Pizzetti or Lavazza coffee?

We'll have to see how this story brews.