PR watchdog and blogsite www.prdisasters.com has announced the results of its 2007 PR Disaster Awards.
The winner is former Australian Liberal Minister Jackie Kelly, for her ludicrous defence of a racist and fake election leaflet, which tried to discredit the Australian Labor party.
The full list of the year’s most negative PR disasters identified by bloggers, the media and PR and reputation management expert, Gerry McCusker, reads as follows:
1 Jackie Kelly – comments over the racist and bogus election leaflet
2 Ribena – its Vitamin C claims were disproved by two NZ schoolkids
3 Heather Mills McCartney – her interview meltdown on a UK TV show
4 WorkChoices – the policy that accelerated the Australian Liberal’s election defeat
5 Whole Foods (USA) – a fake blog praising its CEO, outed as being covertly written by the same CEO
6 Visy Industries/Dick Pratt – Aussie packaging company fined over a major price-fixing cartel scandal
7 Ben Cousins – the football player’s oft-publicised battles with drug addiction
8 FEMA – the US government department had staff pose as fake reporters at a poorly-attended press event
9 APEC – Australian TV show The Chaser infiltrated international security posing as a Canadian cavalcade carrying a fake Osama bin Laden
10 USA’s Cartoon Network – put fake, blinking ‘bombs’ on bridges to promote a show
As defined in McCusker’s business book ‘Public Relations Disasters’, a PR disaster is an incident that catalyses sustained negative media coverage for an individual or organization, and which subsequently damages personal or professionalreputation.
Ends
Further information and interviews:PR analyst and author Gerry McCusker Email: [email protected]
Note: ‘Public Relations Disasters: Talespin’ is published in paperback by Kogan Page, 2006. Media or blog review copies are available on request from the author (contact above).
