Lance Armstrong- What a Dope!

Lance has taken quite a spill and chances are really good he won’t be getting up from the ground anytime soon.

It’s amazing how much wool this guy pulled over everyone’s eyes. Not sure there are any sheep left. And it’s great that his early tattlers now have major street cred.

It’s true the guy had cancer and beat it, but that’s the only thing he honestly ever beat.  He’s been totally stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles and banished from the NY and Boston marathon books, too.

The guy is just a cheat, along with lots of his biker buddies.

I used to watch the Tour de France amazed at these ironmen with legs of steel able to pedal to a medal. But, now the entire world knows it was all a fake. His pedal-power was fueled by just the right amount of steroids to become superman without showing up on a blood test.  This was one cagey biker.

In the PR profession we’d probably counsel Lance to lay low for a long time and then spend the rest of his life doing charity work.  Oh, wait a minute…Lance already has a charity!  And he didn’t do LIVESTRONG any favors by ruining his good name.  And that name is being erased from the sides of bikes, helmets, jerseys and energy bars (so I just made that one up) even as I blog.

What was he thinkin’? Guess is he just wanted to be a winner and was willing to do whatever it took to get him to the medal stand. What a dope!

Lance not only gave pro cycling a black eye, but he also spoiled the sport for all the weekend warriors who strap on their helmets and ride 10 or 20 miles.

If I were Lance?  I’d grow a beard, grab my passport and leave town for a long time. It’s time for Lance to ride into the sunset and never show his smug mug again.

Young Guns Take on PR

The Washington Women in PR Emerging Leaders Awards is at the National Press Club and it’ll be one crowded event, and deserves to be.  It’s fantastic that WWPR takes the time and energy to salute up-and-comers in the industry.  Without kids passionate about PR earning their stripes, where would our industry be going?

The terrain has drastically changed over the past few years and will continue to shimmer and shift as everyone scrambles to learn more about the changing technology and how to integrate it into our communications practices.  No, not every new app, platform or blog site is right for marcomm, nor will every new app or platform survive, but it sure helps the industry to have youngsters come aboard who have been spending the last few years soaking up the new stuff and applying it whenever it makes sense.

It was the younger crowd in my agency that suggested we work with Pandora, Pinterest, QR codes and She Speaks on behalf of clients, and also know the exact online video hosts to reel in the right audience.  And if I ever have any question about what 20- and 30-somethings are plugging into, I just ask them in a meeting and we bat around new and juicy ideas.  Talk about off the grid.  Without emerging leaders, we wouldn’t have the freshest most innovative thinking.

And when we fold the new ideas into our proposals and programs they not only sizzle, but also provide new channels for an industry that has its roots in radio, print and online.  Why not leverage the video and audio and place it on key blog sites, partner with blog networks, catch active consumers in fitness clubs, grocery stores, even bars?  Let’s touch our audiences at home, on laptops, on tablets, on smartphones, while they work out, in airports, when they shop and when they go to the doctor.

So a big thanks to WWPR for putting on the event and props to the young guns who are smokin’ and propelling PR to new heights.

And the Rockets Red Flare…Glare… oh, whatever

Typically speaking, we tend to lose the meaning of the holidays we celebrate. While each July 4^th, Americans have the day off to remember what is truly important, it usually equates to a day off from work.

Consider how many people know all the lyrics to the Star-Spangled banner, understand the lyrics, know who Francis Scott Key was, or understand that the beautiful display of fireworks could be seen as an homage to gunfire– albeit a colorful one?

So as we return from our July 4^th holidays, you might be thinking, why is this year special? Well, have you checked the news lately? Unlike past years, there was no shutdown of all things civic. Congress remained open, major trials took place, the country showed allegiance to our Independence Day.  If ever there was a time to celebrate and revere our Founding Fathers’ fight for freedom, the Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights, it is now.

Let’s start with Congress. Whatever the reason and whatever your affiliation, Republican, Democrat, Whig (some people just can’t let go), it is nice to see Congress not take their week off to celebrate our founding but rather use the week to keep America’s ideals intact. You know, freedom from the government’s really low credit rating. As PR professionals, we have all had to cancel vacation time to take care of things like an unplanned launch or crisis, so really, staying to solve the debt issue just seems like the right thing to do. We have a budget issue. You have a deadline. Sorry, but the trips to Disney will just have to wait. And, they did. There is a certain amount of civic pride glowing inside us all right now.

Unfortunately, our Founding Fathers didn’t distinguish between the rights of the just and the rights of the just awful.  And, sometimes our rights protect the wrong. If anyone is to breathe a sigh of relief for Freedom this July 4^th, it is Casey Anthony. While her rights may set her free on the streets, not sure if that would be in her best interest given the hordes of people angry with the verdict, including, but not limited to, Nancy Grace. Anthony may want to consider asking to be put in jail anyway since it’s very doubtful she will be able to do anything of value with her life as the new face of un-convicted murder or as some may say ’not guilty, doesn’t mean innocent.’ But she, for one, should have a renewed interest in the July 4^th celebration of freedom. Not sure OJ does anymore.

Whatever your celebration and sense of civic pride, we hope you had a nice holiday and watched some colorful gunfire simulations in the sky.

TWO AND A HALF MEN

Who knew Charlie Sheen was the “half” in Two and a Half Men? Half man and half wingnut. The sitcom star is on a roll with winning lines including “I have Adonis DNA and Tiger Blood.” “Yeah, I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen! It's not available, because if you try it once, you will die.” “People can’t process me with a normal brain.” And the ever-popular, "I'm underpaid.”  

However, with the amount of publicity he has drummed up, including several morning shows and coverage from Perez to People, maybe he is underpaid. TV hasn’t had this much fight since Shannen Doherty took on Beverly Hills. Charlie, if you could try for controversial instead of insane you may just get this PR stuff right. 

In the PR biz you book TV or radio interviews so your celebrity spokesperson can deliver message points to millions of viewers and listeners.  In Charlie’s case, his message is loud and clear – he is crazy!

It’s evidently not enough that CBS fired the guy and closed up shop for the popular show this season, but now the celebrity partyer has gone above and beyond. He would like a raise!  Yup, you heard right.  Charlie now wants $3 million an episode…and he’s demanding CBS gives a public apology.  And this is after he trashed-talked show producer Chuck Lorrie, CBS, AA…you name it. He believes that CBS is taking away his money and that’s where he draws the line. When asked if he was angry, his answer was “no, just passionate.”

This is almost better than the Tiger Woods controversy and definitely better than the Academy Awards.

Speaking of PR types, Charlie’s longtime publicist just resigned. Can anyone blame him?  I think we are past the point of salvaging this guy.  Best bet now is to just keep playing out the crazy man routine and own it!

Usually when there’s a celebrity PR crisis, the celeb in the crosshairs manages to humbly apologize and go into rehab.  But not Charlie!  He’ll continue to do back-to-back interviews where you can almost see the steam coming out of his ears (I bet there’s a lack of gray matter in between to hold it in).

How will this end?  He sure is funny on the TV show and, according to him, has several movie offers on the table.  But, here’s my guess:  Charlie is destined to find himself the subject of SNL skits, South Park plots and Family Guy jokes- but the damage will be short-lived.  Because crazy as he is, the man sure can make a funny sitcom.