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dirty business

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public relations

Coach Brand Teaches Students How To Be Dirty Shills

Hunter College, the luxury brand Coach, fraudulent PR campaigns, and dishonest corporate collaboration with academia are the topics of the day today. Important topics! Adweek has just come out with a long investigative piece on a Coach-sponsored PR class at Hunter, which reeks of impropriety and dishonesty, and ended up tangling a bunch of college kids up in a fake online PR blog that makes them all look like a bunch of shady, dishonest undercover marketing hacks. "I knew a lot of hell would break loose about the class. And it did," said the teacher. Indeed. The condensed version of the whole sordid tale, after the jump. More »

4:12 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
5,586 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: Tis was awesome when it was going down at Hunter. I remember the ridiculous posters and the even more ridiculous "Break the Chain" anti-counterfiting festival with handy stickers about how counterfeit Coach bags are made by 4 year olds in more »

public relations

Mark Penn: You Fool

So Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's doughy chief strategist, finally got booted from the campaign last weekend. The majority of her campaign team hated him for some time, so his departure will be welcomed by insiders. They felt that his strategy was unsuccessful, and they were right. But the specific reason for Penn's departure was his idiot move of meeting with the Colombian government, in his day job as CEO of massive PR firm Burson-Marsteller, to represent them on the opposite side of an issue from Hillary Clinton, while running her campaign. And you know what? This moment was inevitable. The very idea of having a man simultaneously running a presidential campaign and an international PR firm is stupid, and never should have happened in the first place. You fools! More »

2:41 PM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
1,941 views, 26 comments

Latest by the57chambers: @karion: im all for free trade with colombia as well, though im sensing we may have something different (and possibly whiter) in mind than clinton... more »

bloodsuckers

Huge PR Firm Concerned About Fox News' Bug Problem

Fleishman-Hillard, one of the world's largest PR firms, seems pretty worried about that recent bedbug infestation at Fox News! Fleishman is sending out press releases for its client, Hot Shot insecticides, offering a free Hot Shot to anybody who's been a guest on Fox lately. So they don't bring the nasty Fox bugs back home! Funny thing is, most PR firms are painstakingly careful not to offend any media outlets, but here's a brave one that's willing to stand up and call Fox News—I'm really paraphrasing here—a den of dirty bloodsucking insects that has tainted anyone who set foot on its premises. Lots of people have said that before, but never a PR agency. Good show, Fleishman! Hope Fox doesn't get offended next time you're pitching them clients (such as Target, Motorola, Dow Chemical—email me for a longer list)! It's a good thing Fox News doesn't hold grudges, ha ha. Full pesticidal press release after the jump. More »

10:14 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
2,161 views, 5 comments

Latest by hellodarling!: All I can say is, please, please keep making fun of my former workplace. (I realized I'd like to keep my soul, thanks.) Seriously. Please? I'm sure I can find you some awesomely bad old press more »