On Thursday afternoon of last week the Internet was buzzing with unconfirmed rumors of Michael Jackson’s death.
Perez Hilton, who has successfully built his celebrity blog into a multimillion-dollar international brand, posted the following reaction.
“We knew something like this would happen!!
Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance from his Holmby Hills home to a nearby Los Angeles hospital on Thursday afternoon!!
Supposedly, the singer went into cardiac arrest and the paramedics had to administer CPR!!!
His mother is even on the way to visit him!!!
We are dubious!!
Jacko pulled a similar stunt when he was getting ready for his big HBO special in ‘95 when he ‘collapsed’ at rehearsal!
He was dragging his heels on that just like his upcoming 50 date London residency at the 02 Arena, of which he already postponed the first few dates!!!
Either he’s lying or making himself sick, but we’re curious to see if he’s able to go on!!!
Get your money back, ticket holders!!!!”
Shortly after the reports of Jackson’s death were confirmed, Hilton’s original post was replaced with a more fitting tribute, but enough people saw the original post (and took a screencap picture) that the damage was done.
Almost immediately, other blogs began reporting on Perez’ post and an #unfollowperezhilton movement began on twitter. Celebrities and fans alike bombarded him with messages about his insensitivity. He’s been in crisis communications mode since.
It’s still too early to tell if the Perez Hilton brand will suffer permanent damage from this. But it does carry a lesson for all brand ambassadors. In the drive to be the first, don’t forget that the Internet is permanent. Once you put something online, there’s no taking it back. Are you willing to stake your brand’s reputation on something you post on the Internet?
For years tobacco companies have spent millions, perhaps billions, fighting government regulation. And they’ve succeeded. The most deadly product ingested by consumers remains outside the control of the Food and Drug Administration. I believe that will soon change. Let me explain.
To combat growing anti-smoking legislation, tobacco manufacturers have developed a range of new, smokeless, spitless nicotine-delivery products. This, for good and bad, will ultimately be their demise. I say bad because the path to regulation will be paved with bodies.
According to their own promotional materials, these new orbs, sticks and dissolvable strips contain up to 3.1 milligrams of nicotine–300 times the typical amount in a cigarette–and feature a minty-fresh taste.
Teens have a long history of experimenting with large quantities of any cheap, widely available product to get a high: mouthwash, vanilla extract, cold medicine, the list goes on. With their easy delivery and increased potency, these new products will be a siren song for teen experimentation, oneupsmanship and abuse that will fill our emergency rooms and morgues with overdosed kids. Only then will there be enough outrage to properly regulate nicotine products.
Why do we always wait until it’s too late to start paying attention?
Super Bowl XLIII is over, and for once, the action on the field was more exciting than the commercials. Many times, the game is a foregone conclusion by halftime, but the ads keep viewers glued to their screens. This year, however, I don’t think the commercials lived up to the hype.
The Bud Light spots just weren’t funny. The Clydesdale ads fell short. Even the Castrol commercial featuring chimpanzees, which I consider to be advertising gold, failed to garner laughs. I’d mention a few other ads and how they disappointed, but to be honest, I don’t remember them. I couldn’t tell you what companies spent their $3 million on. The only bright spot was the Doritos spot created by Indiana amateurs, which topped USA Today’s Ad Meter rankings and earned the unemployed admen a cool $1 million.
Companies sunk a lot of money into production values, but I think the content simply fell short. Was it just me? Were the ads great and I failed to see it? Is the economy making companies play it safe? Too safe?
Am I alone on this? Did you have a favorite ad? Or did corporate America blow millions of dollars on completely forgettable marketing?
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