Do Olympic sponsors conflict with the spirit of the games?

The organisers of the Olympics are under fire for their sponsorship deal with BP today, as debate grows around sponsorship from forms such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Rio Tinto.

A letter on behalf of 34 signatories accuses the International Olympics Committee (IOC) of failing to consider the broader ethical and environmental impacts of their sponsors. Signatories include Greenpeace UK, a London mayoral candidate, the director of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management, the World Development Movement and Climate Rush.

It seems that the IOC have neglected to note that sponsorship is a two way deal: while BP, McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Rio Tinto (amongst others) bask in the positive publicity of peace, fairness, competitive spirit, health and solidarity, the reputations of these firms are often very different. Brands which stand for unhealthy lifestyles reliant on fatty foods, sugary drinks and reliance upon the car, and which represent exploitation of natural resources particularly at the expense of developing nations, are hardly compatible with the Olympic spirit.

Toying with the Russian authorities?

Russian authorities have ruled that a protest by around 100 Kinder Surprise figurines, 100 Lego people, 20 model soldiers, 15 soft toys and 10 toy cars is unlawful. In the latest in a series of absurdly humourous protests, the toys carried banners complaining about corruption and electoral malpractice, on behalf of their human owners.

A spokesman for the Siberian city of Barnaul justified the ruling, saying "As you understand, toys, especially imported toys, are not only not citizens of Russia but they are not even people". However the authorities' over reaction has sparked national and international media stories and inspired many more to add their toys to the protest.

Protestors are considering an alternative - the solitary picket which is allowable under Russian law. "We will stand up one [toy] and the rest will sit on a bench not far away," said one protestor. See more in the Guardian .

Lobbying in the spotlight again

Labour MPs are highlighting a series of low profile meetings of high profile ministers and company execs, in networking meetings previously banned by the Cabinet Office. Reported in the Guardian today, the Chemistry Club arrange networking events where executives from companies such as Shell, BP and Russian oil giant Gazprom pay £1,800 a head to meet ministers from the Treasury, Home office, Ministry of Defence, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Ministers include Ben Moxham, ex-employee of BP and now David Cameron's special advisor for energy and the environment. Execs from Apple, Google and Citigroup have also attended.

Labour MP Lisa Nandy says "It's been exceptionally difficult to get clear answers about who attends these meetings, and why. It's hard to avoid the impression that ministers are just paying lip service to the principle of open government. It cannot be right that lobbyists can provide access for cash... Ministers have serious questions to answer about whether lobbyists can buy influence with their government. The question remains, why would you pay thousands of pounds to network with civil servants if not to change policy or win a contract?" Tamasin Cave, of the transparency group Spinwatch, said the Chemistry Club characterised "a lobbying industry out of control".

McDonald's shows PR is child's play

McDonald's, long criticised for enticing children to unhealthy meals with small plastic toys, are upping their game by replacing the toys with good old fashioned books. Reported on the front page of the Guardian website today, McDonald's have achieved great positive PR by giving away 9 million of Michael Morpurgo's MudPuddle Farm books. A clever move...

Twelve 2012 trends

PR professionals must have an ear to the ground: PR tactics that cut through are innovative, up to date and riding the wave of the latest trend or fashion. The website http://www.trendwatching.com/ provides great free updates, including these 12 trends for 2012. See how you can weave some of these into your assignments...

Dockin' around the Christmas tree...

As over a million iPads and Kindles are unwrapped this Christmas, newspapers are publishing their first Christmas day editions since 1912. While excited new digital media owners scour the Internet for the favourite publications, Christmas is now a landmark in the media calendar as newspapers publish their very best work to lure digital subscribers. While newspapers as news generators will continue to flourish, whether it will be on paper or not is another matter. This means news will look different: it will be faster, more interactive, with video and click throughs for more information. This means PR will be different too. Read this Guardian article for more.

Lobbying in the spotlight

A parliamentary investigation into the activities of lobbying firms with links to UK ministers is announced today. This comes at the end of a week that has seen lobbying in the spotlight with a sting operation involving the PR firm Bell Pottinger. See this film as journalists pose as representatives of the government of Uzbekistan, speaking to the MD of the firm, and exposing links to government officials, their role in editing Wikipedia and the manipulation of Google rankings to drown out stories about child labour.

Tim Collins, MD of the firm, claimed "I've been working with people like Steve Hilton, David Cameron, George Osborne for 20 years-plus. There is not a problem getting the messages through". One example was David Cameron raising issues of copyright infringement on behalf of Dyson, with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. Tim Collins said "He (the Prime Minister) was doing it because we asked him to do it." Meanwhile Downing Street insist: "Bell Pottinger nor any other lobbying firm has any say or influence over government policy" and called accusations "outrageous".

The investigation is supported least strongly by conservative MPs who tend to be more heavily implicated in engaging with lobbyists, and senior executives of Bell Pottinger have been invited as witnesses. For an overview of the issue see this opinion piece in the Independent