When a local council banned 9 year old Martha Payne from photographing her school meals, scoring them on a 'Food-o-meter' scale for healthiness, and posting to her blog they thought they were averting a PR scandal. Instead, as New Statesman put it, in "swerving to avoid a PR disaster molehill, have just crashed full speed into a PR disaster mountain".  
The resulting publicity about the banned blog did more to raise awareness of the inadequacies of school meals in Argyll and Bute than any single blog could have done. Once again, power to the citizen journalist, even the 9 year olds.

Public relations-hips...on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is always a PR bonanza and this little blog by Umpf keeps us up to date with 2012's offerings here in the UK.

Sometimes it's creating a new product - from this 'recession proof' card from Asda with a humourous angle ('My love for you is priceless!') for just 7p (an extra 7p for the envelope) to the $10,010 Pizza Hut proposal pack: including ruby ring, limousine servicem flowers, fireworks and...a $10 pizza and breadstick meal.

Or there are the surveys: according to a Travelodge survey British men spend twice as much as women on Valentine's and as a country we spend £880m on the day...and in the Lovehearts factory there are 61 couples amongst the 500 staff, that's a quarter of all staff in the loved up factory.

And there are the stunts: Agent Provocateur with live models in their New York window, Britain's oldest couple tweeting on behalf of wedding video company 'Shoot it Yourself', and Dove inviting people to tweet what they love most about their Valentine at London's Victoria Station, while handing out white tulips.

Well, we did say PR is all about relationships...

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...