Soap Humor: What's The Problem?

Apparently the "Unheard of President's Day Sale" Kia commercial didn't go over well. New CEO and chairman Byung Mo Ahn was so upset by this TV ad that he promptly fired Kia's president and top marketing executive. Talk about a low blow.

The commercial was punchy, using a soap-on-a-rope bust of President Fillmore. For those who have not heard of President Fillmore, he was the first commander in chief to have running water in the White House. Ah, but did he use soap? The whole point of using this antic was to be humorous, not serious. Thus the root of the problem. Mr. Ahn prefers to show Kia cars and trucks as serious contenders with good quality. Then why didn't Mr. Ahn fire the advertising agency that created the end product?

In my opinion, the commercial was fun. Local Kia commercials, at least in the Eugene, Oregon area are painful. A local Kia dealership had been using a lady, in her mid-20s, as its commercial spokesperson. Except she dressed in silly costumes and couldn't act to save her life. It was nightmarish. I prefer the soap antic.

My suggestion for Mr. Ahn is to take a shower and cool off. This is hardly the worst of the commercials representing your company's cars.

Read more about this story at Ad age.

Shortcuts for Student Bloggers

Students are busy. Between classes, work and extracurriculars, where is there time for anything extra? Sure, we make time for socializing on the weekends because after all, it's what keeps us sane. But joining the blogosphere is worth the effort and time and should be on every journalism student's list. Here are some tips to make it easy:

1. Sign up on a site like blogger. It provides easy and professional templates for quick setup and maintenence. And best of all, it's FREE. Perfect for the student budget.

2. Don't know what to talk about? It takes time to establish a sense of personality, theme and voice. Be patient. For now, discuss things you see in the media. It can be sports, news events, advertising or a new movie you recently saw.

3. Adding pictures to your site attracts readers and keeps their attention. But don't just nab other's photos online. Visit stock exchange (SXC) for thousands of free photos. SXC is a friendly community of photography addicts who generously offer their works to the public free of charge.

4. So now that you have a posting with a photo or two, it's time to let people know you have a blog. The best way to do this is to go to other people's blogs and comment. People love when you comment on their blogs and will likely come visit your site and return the act.

5. Keep posting! Try to post at least once a week. Joining the blogosphere is a great way to communicate and connect with other professionals from around the world. Now, how cool is that?

If you need more guidance on how to do a blog, check out Daily Blog Tips online. It's a great site packed with useful information.

Good luck!

Go Red With Campbells

Did you know that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women? I didn't, but it's true. And to help in awareness and prevention, Campbell's, Inc. has stepped up with the American Heart Association in its Go Red campaign. Designer Lisa Perry created three dresses for website visitors to vote on, the winning dress to be worn by heart disease survivor Toni Braxton to kick off American Heart Month in February.

In addition to the voting game, Campbell's lets visitors create their own gowns and post a story about what heart disease means to them. As of 8:30 p.m., I was only one of eight Oregonians who had designed a dress and posted a story. Here's what I posted:

I am young, just about to turn 22. But now I know that it is important to take precautions now, to better myself and my heart for the future. I exercise, eat healthy (OK, not all the time), and tell friends to do the same. I had no idea how prominent heart disease was. I grew up with a mom who had breast cancer so that was always at the forefront of my mind, and ironically my heart. I know I need to take care of my body to help prevent all diseases. After all, my heart has YEARS of love left in it. I better love it back!

Oprah Fights AIDS, Genocide, Poverty with Fashion

Leave it to Oprah to come up with a fashionable campaign to help African women in need. The O bracelet project, sponsored in partnership between O, the Oprah magazine, Fair Winds Trading and Macy’s, empowers women of Rwanda by providing jobs. The bracelets are handmade in Rwanda by women who are affected by poverty, AIDS and genocide. 100% of sales go directly to the women.

What a fabulous idea to give women the creative outlet to hand make bracelets for a source of income. Since its launch in January 2007, the project has made a huge impact in women’s lives. Here’s a excerpt from Mary Fisher’s website (the bracelet designer):

Sadie is 26 years old and has one child. In 2003, she was sick so went back to her village to ask for help from her grandfather and other relatives. She says she was shunned and relatives got a shovel and put it next to her bed, to use to dig her grave. They wanted her to write down what her belongings were in Lusaka so when she died they could get them (a pretty typical occurrence, because women have no property rights according to tribal traditions). The relatives would not feed her in the village so she got sicker and sicker. She got some money for transport, sneaked out of the village and got back to Lusaka to her sisters, who go her to the clinic where she received antiretroviral (ARV) medication.

Getting paid for her work on the bracelet project means she can buy the balanced food she's supposed to eat while taking ARV medication. She also puts money in the bank for school fees for her daughter, who is 6 now. They have to pay school fees every month and if they don't have enough for that month, her daughter doesn't go to school that month.

The bracelet is sold online at Macys.com. Prices range from $88 to $330. What a great movement to provide income for those in Africa!

* Photo from MaryFisher.com

Fashion Magazines: A Grand PR Outlet

As a student majoring in magazine editorial, I naturally delve through a fair share of magazines on a weekly basis. And I admit, I am a sucker for fashion magazines. Although most magazines are “alive” for the sole purpose of making money, I find fashion magazines to be in a world of their own. Even editorial content seems purely driven by advertising and public relations. New products and new clothes are the main focuses of editorial, no doubt conjured up from company press releases.

Is this OK? Surely from a PR standpoint magazines serve as a key median for companies. Flipping through two of my favorites, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, I notice that ad content versus editorial content is about 80 percent to 20 percent, far higher than the average 60 percent to 40 percent. As a reader, I don’t mind this skewed ratio. Half the fun is looking at the advertising; I imagine most readers would agree with me.

Whether or not a company is in the fashion industry, targeting consumer and trade magazines for products or company news can be a worthwhile endeavor. Fashion magazines certainly take no shame.

Lazy PR

Chris Anderson's latest blog, "Sorry PR people: you're blocked," was needed. It was blunt and a tad harsh, but is a great wake-up call for all PR professionals. It can be easy to e-mail a press release to the first address one sees, but as Chris "lightly" puts, "Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can't be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they're pitching." Long story short? Take a moment and send to the right person.

As a PR professional in training, I learned at my summer internship to ALWAYS look up the targeted person for the media advisory and/or news release. If all else fails, pick up the phone and ask. At the time, it never occurred to me that if I sent to the wrong person I may be blocked, and/or humiliated on a blog, but now I'll be even more careful.

Having said all this, it is true that many professionals buy media lists to send their news to. I would suggest looking over any purchased list carefully before putting it to use. Or, have an intern work on researching and compiling a general list. That's what interns are there for, right? Well, that and coffee runs.

Chevrolet Has Faith in PR Students

A corporation believes undergrads are capable public relations practitioners? Go figure.

Every year, the Public Relations Student Society of America hosts a case study competition for interested PRSSA students. This year’s client? Chevrolet’s 2008 Safe Kids Buckle Up Program. Students form committees, create a case study to encourage seat belt use by kids, and submit to judges. The goal is to bring awareness of the importance of safety belt use. I can definitely get behind the wheel of this cause!

According to Torine Brooks Creepy, director of Safe Kids Buckle Up, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death of kids ages three to 14. It makes me sad to think that ‘precious cargo’ has been hurt or killed because of the failure of doing one thing: using a seat belt.

What makes me happy about this competition is Chevrolet’s faith in our nation’s PR students to provide a compelling campaign. Being an undergrad student, I often forget that I am 21-years-old and a fully capable adult. Yes, I am still a student and still learning. But hey, I have good ideas, too. So thanks to the PRSSA and General Motor’s Chevrolet for giving us students a chance in the real world, no questions asked.