public relations

Artificially Intelligent Mayor

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A photo from the published campaign platform of Toronto mayoral candidate Anthony Furey. Uhhhh, do you notice anything wrong? If you do then maybe you should run for mayor. I see at least six things wrong, ten if you want to get picky (see the comment section below).

But maybe nothing is wrong with the photo. Maybe Furey is saying that having a third arm will make you more prosperous. Vote for him and get another arm!

Note: The link to the original version of the campaign platform no longer works because it has been updated. Care to guess why it was updated?

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A Good Example Of Bad Public Relations

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A 1950s public relations photo to publicize Dairy Queen’s banana drink in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. This Main Street ice cream shop still exists today but it’s no longer a Dairy Queen franchise. (US Library of Congress)

Public relations photography is, or at least should be, much more advanced today.

Today I received an unwanted press release from a Toronto public relations company. It was a good example of what not to do especially if you’re claiming to be a professional communications company.
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Hey, Martha!

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A group of men pose with a “sea serpent”, circa 1906. (US Library of Congress)

There used to be a newsroom term called a “Hey, Martha!” I’m not sure if this is still used today.

The phrase comes from an old editors’ tale, (not unlike an old wives’ tale), that said if a story or photo was so unusual, offbeat or funny, a husband reading his newspaper would look up and yell to his wife, “Hey, Martha! Come and see this!”

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Toronto Film Festival 2020 Review

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Most of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is being held online due to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. There are in-person screenings at a few temporary drive-ins in downtown Toronto and at the indoor theatres in the TIFF building.

I spent one day at the film festival yesterday and that was, according to TIFF, one day too many. No photographers or TV are allowed this year. Reporters are also not allowed at any location.

Opening Night with No Openings

If your organization or business was facing its worst year due to the pandemic, would you want free publicity to help mitigate the situation? If your event was open to the public, was funded by all three levels of government and was held at some government-owned properties, would you feel somewhat obligated to allow news coverage?

Not the Toronto Film Festival.
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Step by Step, Inch by Inch

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An old, partially submerged, iron scow (barge) is shown in June 2017 grounded in the Niagara River above the Horseshoe Falls. The boat had been lying on its side and lodged in this spot since 1918.

A couple weeks ago, the old iron scow stuck in the Niagara River above the falls made international news. The boat had been stuck in place since 1918 but a storm on October 31, 2019, dislodged it.

Most of the headlines were about the boat breaking free and moving closer to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. All very dramatic. Niagara Falls . . . step by step, inch by inch:
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Campaigning For A Public Relations Photo Op

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A CBC video shows how political parties stage campaign photo opportunities. Canada is currently in the middle of a federal election.

A tired cliché photo opp is a politician standing in front of a group of “average” citizens and a big flag. Another cliché is having people in the background hold up signs with political slogans.

The most important part of any political campaign event is the visuals, specifically the photographs. Visuals are the easiest and fastest way for people to see and understand what’s happening. Sound and text may help fill out the message but the image is noticed first and remembered most.
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Marketing Fools

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Toronto’s first cannabis store opened this week on April Fools’ Day and it pulled a prank on everyone including itself.

The store’s very first customer was fake. A pretend customer. Someone who works for the store as its publicist.

When found out, their excuse was that they wanted to make sure its first sale, which was being recorded by the city’s news media, didn’t have any “issues.”

Every other cannabis store in the country, since last October, has managed to open and sell to their real first customers without any “issues.”

This Toronto store is now getting publicity for all the wrong reasons:

It may have violated Canadian advertising standards:
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