Communications coaching is a two-way street, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly should be advised. What you say and How you say it. Seems Mr. Kelly coached President Trump on what to say to the grieving widow of a fallen soldier. A 4-Star general and a father who’d lost his soldier son in Afghanistan expressed in somber words and …
Not what you say, but how you say it!
“It’s often not what you say, but how you say it.” Look for yourself. The words in this PSA were reflective and respectful, but Johnny Depp’s and actress wife, Amber Heard’s deadpan delivery was not. In it, they used the medium to show true disdain for Australians and their laws. Video Courtesy The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water …
When the Media Makes the Mistakes
Recently, the magazine publications of Adweek and Glamour used the power of the press without permission. Adweek featured actress Kerry Washington on its April 2016 cover with her skin lightened and her face photo-shopped. Glamour implied that comedian Amy Schumer is plus size by including her name with actress Melissa McCarthy, singer Adele, and plus-size model Ashley Graham on its …
A painful Holiday commercial
In the Hippocratic Oath, doctors promise to first “do no harm.” Advertisers should give their brands and consumers the same care. In last season’s holiday commercial, Coca-Cola insensitively and inadvertently harmed their brand. Opening with a bucolic view of the indigenous community of Totontepec in Oaxaca, Mexico; the Spanish text proclaimed that 81.6% of Mexico’s indigenous people feel marginalized because Spanish is …
Hot Under the Collar
In this election year, should Governor Rick Scott have electrified his voter base with a seven-minute stand on a non-issue? And why? Before an October debate in Fort Lauderdale, incumbent Florida Governor Scott created a media disaster by delaying his appearance for seven minutes due to a cooling fan placed beneath the podium of his opponent, former Republican turned-Democrat gubernatorial …
Sensitivity Training
When a British retailer featured a greeting card with, “don’t get mad, take lithium” (an obvious reference to the medication for bipolar disorder,) customers didn’t just get mad — they got even, with posts such as “I will no longer be shopping with you” on the company’s Facebook page. The stage was set when another offended customer (@poeticfeminist) tweeted, “do you …
Everybody Makes Mistakes
Everyone needs media coaching once in a while, including Pope Francis. The Vatican has been recently involved in embarrassing situations due to poor media preparation. Time after time, Vatican spokesmen have been forced to release awkward clarifications after failed media opportunities. And more often than not, these clarifications cause more confusion. Pope Francis’ latest interview with 90-year old journalist Eugenio …
The Best Defense
During a recent conversation with The Guardian, pop singing sensation Lana del Rey experienced a media disaster by steering the interview in the wrong direction. According to Tim Jonze, Lana’s interviewer, she repeatedly expressed discontent with her life and said, “I wish I was dead already.” Reflecting the title of her debut album “Born to Die,” she mentioned several of …
The Anatomy of a Good Apology
It seems like the past week has been one full of guilt and regrets. Pop-star Justin Bieber and Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill found themselves in two different, yet very similar sticky situations. On the one hand we have Mr. Hill, who after being followed by paparazzi all day, finally snapped and said a “disgusting and hurtful” homophobic …
T.M.I. (Too Much Information)
Probably every poor reader and/or contact wearer in the audience of Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas felt vindicated when TV reality star and aspiring model Kendall Jenner fumbled her teleprompter introduction of Australia’s boy band, “5 Seconds of Summer.” She said, “And now we welcome, One…” before stopping abruptly. Everyone, including 5SOS’s British rival “One Direction,” assumed that …