L-R: Beth Lamb, APR, and Jessamy Brown, APR
Special thanks to PRSA Southwest District Chair, Beth Lamb, APR, for all of her help in planning and leading the PRSA Southwest District Conference, and GFW PRSA President-Elect Jessamy Brown, APR, and the team from Cook Children’s for representing our chapter at the conference in Oklahoma City in June.
Cook Children’s team.
We’re excited to report that professional football icon Emmitt Smith, one of the greatest ever to play the game, has joined the keynote speaker lineup for ICON 2022, taking place Nov. 13-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.
During his 15 seasons as a running back in the National Football League, Smith set records that still stand today. His impressive resume includes three Super Bowl championship rings with the Dallas Cowboys, induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and his 2019 selection to the prestigious NFL 100 All-Time Team.
“Emmitt Smith is a proven leader, mentor and role model both on and off the football field,” noted Dr. Felicia Blow, APR, 2022 PRSA Chair. “And while he’s most widely known for setting rushing records, running successful businesses, providing educational opportunities to underserved youth and, yes, ‘dancing with the stars,’ he is also an expert communicator. The advice and counsel Emmitt will share will provide valuable insights to all strategic communications professionals, and we look forward to having him share his expertise and experience.”
In a conversation at ICON 2022 with Gary McCollum, an author, activist, mentor and former SVP and GM at Cox Communications, Smith will share winning strategies on a wide variety of topics. He will discuss how communications professionals can protect, manage and enhance brand reputation; resources and tools he uses to positively and strategically impact and develop his businesses and charities; and the DEI challenges and opportunities communicators face in today’s fraught political climate, among other subjects of importance to all practitioners.
After his playing days, Smith served as a football analyst and then took his television career a step further when he won the third season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Smith also added author to his list of accomplishments, publishing “Game On,” which outlines the principles that helped him succeed both on and off the field.
Smith now runs several companies involved in real estate, construction and technology. He is active in charitable outreach in the Dallas area and on a national level, providing educational opportunities and unique experiences for underserved youth.
Last year, Smith became a co-owner of a NASCAR team partnering with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. A major theme of Smith and Iwuji’s partnership centers on STEM education for lower-income communities and diversity and inclusion initiatives within the sport of NASCAR.
At ICON 2022, Smith joins a dynamic keynote speaker lineup that also includes Academy Award-winning actress and trailblazing activist Marlee Matlin as well as award-winning journalist and bestselling author Katty Kay.
The reviews are in: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), hosts of the Golden Globe film awards, is embroiled in a dramatic story of its own. The organization is facing multiple allegations of ongoing, widespread sexism and racism, several stars have announced their intent to boycott the show, and NBC has canceled plans to air the 2022 ceremony. The HFPA has responded by acknowledging that systemic reform “is long overdue,” and released a plan to increase diversity, restrict the “gifts” members can receive and require diversity training for the members. Regrettably, they have yet to apologize for giving the Best Drama Award to “Avatar” over “The Hurt Locker.”
About-faces: The CDC continues to take lumps for its seemingly inconsistent mask messaging. One physician said the new guidance has caused “a giant mess,” and one national news magazine’s cover headline was “Mask Confusion.” Many people seem ready to be done with masks—and so is our cat.
False start: Japanese Olympic officials are excited about the impending games, but Japanese citizens are not. Two-time Japanese Olympic medalist Yuko Arimori publicly criticized the planning committee for a lack of transparency. “The organizers have had the past year to communicate with the public,” he said, “and yet public opinion hasn’t changed.” The U.S. has offered to assist by sending Ryan Lochte as a goodwill ambassador.
Out of Context (a recurring feature): Former Senator Rick Santorum, trying out his new role as a history teacher, told a group of students, “We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here.” Native Americans could only assume that “Nothing” was the name of an obscure tribe in Massachusetts.
Silver Spoon, indeed: Former child actor Ricky Schroder decided to film himself at a Costco lecturing the store manager about their masking policy. Schroder later posted a video apologizing for his action, and asked if he can still redeem his reward points.
Please close the Windows: Bill and Melinda Gates simultaneously posted respectful, duplicate messages on their social media about their plans to divorce. “We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple,” they wrote. It was later reported that Bill may have been involved in some sexual improprieties, but no word yet on if he had been infected with a virus.
Past his Prime: Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri posted a video noting that Jeff Bezos had not contributed to his campaign to benefit restaurant industry workers. On the positive, Bezos did offer each restaurant worker one free month of Amazon Prime.
Central Emotional Intelligence Agency: The CIA released a new recruitment video which is being maligned (and praised) for being a little too … well, something. In the ad, a female agent says, “I am unapologetically me. I want you to be unapologetically you.” The ad prompted Sen. Ted Cruz to comment, “If you’re a Chinese communist, or an Iranian Mullah…would this scare you? We’ve come a long way from Jason Bourne.” Cruz reportedly also was upset later on, when he learned that Iron Man is not real, either.
Follow the tweeter: In what may be a first, the Israeli Army used social media to coordinate a highly effective attack on Hamas. The Israelis falsely tweeted that they were currently launching a major attack on the Gaza Strip, which was widely picked up by local media. The news prompted the Hamas forces to rush forward to defend the area—at which point Israel really did launch an attack.
Giving it a shot: With COVID vaccination rates reportedly slumping among Republicans, a group of GOP lawmakers have made a video encouraging people to get the vaccine. One politician said getting vaccinated will help “end the government’s restrictions on our freedoms.”
TWITS
The roundup of social media posts that have since been deleted—or should be.
QUOTE
“In a world you can be anything, be kind, because you are all no better than the cleaner.” – Julie Cousins, a 67-year-old office cleaning lady, in a hand-written note she gave to a bank manager, who apparently had been quite harsh with her the day before. Her son shared the letter on Twitter, and it has earned more than 150,000 likes.
CLEANUP IN THE PRODUCE SECTION: After a Trader Joe’s worker wrote to the corporate office asking for more COVID protections for employees, the company fired him. But after he posted the termination letter on his social media and drew widespread support, the company rehired him. Side note: One media outlet interviewed an independent scientist, who said the employee’s safety requests were appropriate.
AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE HIRE: After White House press secretary TJ Ducklo learned a reporter was working on an unflattering story about him, he said he would “destroy” her. Ducklo resigned after his actions made headlines.
LINCOLN, LOGGED OUT: The San Francisco school district announced it will rename Lincoln High School because Old Abe did not sufficiently demonstrate that “Black lives mattered,” or defend Native Americans. Schools named after Thomas Jefferson and Paul Revere also will be renamed. A district representative said that “only good can come” from eliminating the names.
COSINE OF THE TIMES: The Oregon Dept. of Education is drawing flack for encouraging teachers to take a training on dismantling racism in mathematics. The toolkit explains, “The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it even much less so.”
NON-BINDING AGREEMENT: Toymaker Hasbro has announced that Mr. Potato Head is becoming nonbinary. Henceforth, the toy will be known just as “Potato Head.” The company said the new name will be less “limiting” for gender identity and family structure. A side note: Actual potatoes possess both male and female flowers and are self-pollinating.
REALITY CHECK NO. 1: The Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team acknowledged having photoshopped masks onto the faces of fans.
REALITY CHECK NO. 2: A special effects editor created an amusing and stunningly believable “deepfake” video of Tom Cruise.
REALITY CHECK NO. 3: A Pennsylvania high school cheerleader’s mother is accused of creating some very unamusing deepfake photos and videos of other cheerleaders acting inappropriately, hoping to get the girls kicked off the team.
TWITS: Various tweets that were later deleted (or should have been):
But the lag between the tweets was enough time for it to draw a whopper of criticism. Burger King later tweeted an apology, then later deleted the original tweet due to numerous inappropriate comments.
TASTIER: In the U.S., Burger King announced the scholarship program with a full-page ad in the New York Times. Although they used the same headline, the explanatory text was immediately evident, stating, “If there’s a professional kitchen, women belong there.”
BAD INFLUENCE? In advance of the murder trial of George Floyd, the Minneapolis City Council approved funding to hire six individuals to serve as social media influencers. Widespread criticism prompted the Council to scrap the plan.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Meghan, Harry went on Oprah to plead their case, Ted Cruz went to Mexico to warm up and ERCOT and the PUC went AWOL. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged having intentionally and drastically under-reported the number of COVID deaths in nursing homes, but now is dealing with multiple allegations of sexual harassment. And three words we’ll never forget: Zoom kitten filter.
PET CEMETERY: Speaking of kittens, the New Hampshire House of Representatives announced it will no longer allow legislators’ pets to appear onscreen during Zoom meetings.
TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT (A recurring feature, unfortunately): In the midst of the winter storm, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, posted these comments in Facebook: “The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!! … Only the strong will survive, the weak will parish. … Bottom line-DON’T BE A PART OF PROBLEM, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!”
The mayor resigned, and in a later post, explained, “Things I said were taken out of context … if I had it to do over again I would have just kept my words to myself and if I did say them I would have used better wording.”
AND SOME HITS… Actor Jonah Hill (who is not exactly a Dwayne Johnson look-alike) was photographed by paparazzi on the beach with his shirt off and mocked for being chubby. Hill responded on Instagram by saying, “I’m 37 and finally love and accept myself. This isn’t a ‘good for me’ post. And it’s definitelynot a ‘feel bad for me post.’ It’s for the kids who don’t take their shirt off at the pool. Have fun. You’re wonderful and awesome and perfect. All my love.”
An Indianapolis middle school student refused to remove his hat because he was embarrassed by his haircut. Instead of disciplining the student, the principal offered to cut his hair for him. Another staff member posted a photo of the principal trimming away According to one local TV station, the post has been shared more than 26,000 times.
WORDSMITH: “PR is a mix of journalism, psychology, and lawyering – it’s an ever-changing and always interesting landscape.” – PR exec Ronn Torossian
They say a picture is worth—oh, never mind, you know that bit. This month’s column is not about the value of a great picture, but about the cost of a bad one.
That’s what happened on January 9, 1971, when President Nixon went for a walk on the beach near his home in San Clemente, CA.
Whether you were a fan of Nixon or not, most people agree he had a reputation for being somewhat stiff. With the 1972 election coming up, his aides thought it was a good idea to try and build up his image as a man of the people.
So they came up with a plan to have the President photographed while walking along the beach. It seemed like a good idea; after all, everyone enjoys spending some time on the beach (except for whales).
There was only one problem: Nixon took his stroll wearing his official Presidential windbreaker, slacks and wingtips. So he looks completely out of place, more like someone who is walking for help after his car broke down. This was not the way to be seen as a man of the people—unless perhaps the people are in North Korea.
To his defense, Nixon had a very good excuse: He always preferred to dress that way. As he once told a reporter, “I’m always wearing a coat and tie. Even when I’m alone. … That’s the way it is.”
And he was right: In fact, you can find many other shots of Nixon “relaxing” in non-relaxing clothes. There are photos of him at picnics, riding on a small boat, playing with his dog, hosing down the roof of his house, even lounging by his pool. In each shot, he is dressed like he is on his way to a conference, and in most of the photos, he looks like he’s the keynote speaker.
Nixon once said he thought it was more important for a politician to be respected than loved. As it worked out, he ended up with neither, but this PR move clearly did not serve him well.
A sidebar: The aides may have gotten their inspiration from Nixon’s old rival, President Kennedy, who also was photographed walking on the beach; what’s more, he was wearing a sport coat.
But JFK, ever the style maven, was shrewd enough to also wear khakis and sneakers, and the photo could have made the cover of GQ. Even more impressive, JFK also was once photographed on the beach with no shirt on. That shot alone had to be worth a few thousand votes.
And so another well-intentioned photo-op when awry. But this gaffe was no fault of Nixon’s; someone, anyone, on his team should have spoken up. It was similar to Michael Dukakis’ infamous tank ride, a topic we previously covered, as may be recalled by both of our regular readers.
As PR pros, we are assigned to always be on the lookout for ways to better “position” our clients. But positioning is a craft, not a science, and requires both skill and insight. So before we try to burnish our client’s credentials, it’s probably wise to make sure we’re using the right polish.