And the Oscar Goes To...

This weekend marks the 86th annual Academy Awards, aka the Oscars. Dozens of A-list celebrities will join together to celebrate the magic of movie making and the hard work their colleagues put into making these masterpieces.

While most celebs and their entourage are getting ready to celebrate the biggest event in Hollywood, many publicist and PR reps are sweating bullets, fearing what mistakes may occur be it the prompter messing up, a winner dropping an f-bomb in their speech, or an uncanny wardrobe malfunction.

Last Oscar season, there were quite a few hiccups in the show and a handful of PR reps looking for new jobs the next morning. For starters, when Ryan Seacrest was interviewing Sandra Bullock, you could distinctly hear another voice in the background coming out of his mike. While Bullock handled the situation with grace, Seacrest looked panicked and flustered.

One of the biggest talked about events at last year’s academy awards was Jennifer Lawrence’s glorious tumble up the stairs to receive her award. Though she proudly got back on her feet and accepted what was rightfully hers, her back stage speech gave her publicist a bit of work to do after the 22-year-old actress dropped an f-bomb and opening admitted to taking shots before approaching the stage.

Publicists and PR reps alike should start to prepare their press releases and public apologies now. There has never been an Academy Awards ceremony that’s not had some talked about event on the front page the next morning. Prepping their stars and getting ahead on their apology notes will save them a great deal of time and stress.

http://topstorypublicrelations.com/2013/02/21/the-pr-marketing-of-oscar-2013/

Unrest Continues in Ukraine

            While most of the news coverage has depicted the wins and loses at this year’s 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, many reporters have begun to turn their cameras towards the unrest and protest occurring throughout Ukraine.

            The reasons for the demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine go back to the begging of 2012.  In late March of that year, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine underwent an Association Agreement. The EU would only agree to sign the agreement if the Ukraine agreed to a few stipulations that included the imprisonment of two Ukrainian politicians.

Fast-forward over a year later in August 2013, Russia changed its customs regulations on their imports from Ukraine and stopped all good coming from them. Ukrainian politicians viewed this change as a way for Russia to prevent the Ukraine from signing the agreement with the EU. Three months later, in late November, the Ukrainian government suspended their arrangement to sign the agreement. On the same night, protests began in the streets of the capital, Kiev.

Since the protests began four months ago, the movement has been given the name Euromaidan, translated literally means “Eurosquare.” The protesters are demanding European integration from their government. Some civilians are even pushing for the impeachment of the Ukraine president, Viktor Yanukovych and his government.

Different demonstrations have taken place across the country, mainly residing in Kiev. In early December, over 50,000 protestors joined together in Lviv and linked arms around the Taras Schevchenko monument. Multiple public figures and even politicians joined in the demonstration with the protesters. In late January, activists occupied many of the governor buildings and regional council buildings.

As the protests continue on, the demonstrations and demands grow larger, as does the death toll. Just this past Thursday, a demonstration of pro-Euromaidan in the capital resulted in police intervention. Instructed by their own government, they were ordered to shoot anyone who would not comply with their demands. The protest ended with 39 civilians dead, bringing the death toll of just the past three days up to 67.

Now, the Ukrainian is stating they will soon be forced to us military force if the situation doesn’t die down and quickly. President Obama released a statement warning against military involvement saying “We have been watching very carefully and we expect the Ukrainian government to show restraint, to not resort to violence in dealing with peaceful protesters.”

I think I’d have to agree with our president on this occasion. For starters, I think government involvement would only cause more uproar. The death toll is already climbing without the military. If they bring in tanks, thousands will lose their lives. The president is supposed to be a representation of his/her people, so why doesn’t the Ukraine government sign the agreement? Unfortunately, he’s got a powerful parliament who is unwilling to comply with the EU. Hopefully, the Ukraine president takes Obama’s warning and works out a compromise between the people and government before more innocent people are killed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/europe/Ukraine-Crisis-Diplomacy.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-hardaway/euromaidan-glossary_b_4824244.html

To Protest or Not?

Last Friday marked the beginning of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Athletes from across the globe came together and joined in the celebration of the opening ceremonies. Most Olympic games are a time of unity and recognition, this particular Olympic games has been marked with protest, controversy, and discord. 

Before the beginning of the games, Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, actively spoke out against gay rights. In June of 2013, the Russian government created and passed a law that stated all propaganda related to same-sex relationships/marriage. Everyday in Russia, homosexuals are discriminated against and even attacked for their ways of life. There are even dozens of cases where gays and lesbians have been murdered because of their sexual orientation. 

These acts of discrimination have caused quite a bit of uprising and unrest during the games. Multiple athletes have spoken out or displayed signs of protest against Putin and his stance against gays.

The first display of protest took place during one of the first events; Men's slope style. After finishing his run, Russian snowboarder, Alexey Sobolev, flashed the bottom of his snowboard to the camera and revealed a picture that represented Russia's feminist protest group, Pussy Riot. In early 2012, three members of the band were arrested for speaking out against the government. They were eventually released in December of 2013.

Another display of protest came from Australia's bobsled team. Displayed proudly on the front of their team's sled is the symbol for Principle 6; the section of the Olympic Charter that states "sport does not discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise."

Of the athletes at the games, only seven have stated that they are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual. While most of them have decided to stay mum on the topic, openly gay, Dutch snowboarder, Cheryl Maas threw her glove that bared a unicorn and rainbows in the face of the camera and walked off defiantly after her run on the slopes. On the other hand, Anastasia Bucsis, a Canadian speed skater, stated that she'd rather just do what she came to do and leave in peace.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ciaran-a-lionaird/defending-principle-6-sport-as-a-human-right_b_4789382.html

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/02/07/russia-gay-dutch-snowboarder-is-first-to-protest-at-olympics/

http://www.rferl.org/content/olympics-athletes-protest-homosexual-russia-sochi/25256287.html

Who won the Social Bowl?

Blog 4: Which brand one the Super Bowl?

            Last Sunday the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos 43-8. While most people were celebrating the Seahawks massive win, multiple brands, individuals, and PR professionals evaluated their wins and losses from the highly watched game.

            One brand that gained quite a bit of attention was JC Penny. They sent out a tweet that read “Toughdown Seadhawks!! Is sSeattle going toa runaway wit h this???” Though they were trying to be clever with their #TweetingWithMittens, many followers didn’t quite get the joke. Other brands on the other took the opportunity to bank on JC Penny’s awkward tweeting. Kohl’s tweeted back a link to leather texting gloves while Kia tweeted asking JC Penny if they needed a designated driver.

            Of course, social media wasn’t the only way brands gained recognition that night. The commercials that play during the Super Bowl happen to be some viewer’s favorite part. This year, it seems as though Budweiser won the Super Commercial Bowl. Their adorable commercial about the bond between a puppy and a horse had America in aw. It quickly became the number one topic on social media.

            Another highly talked about brand was Coca Cola. Their commercial that displayed a diverse group of individuals singing America the Beautiful caused a huge outburst on Twitter. While most Americans were very accepting of the commercial, many others were upset by the fact that the song was sung in a language other than English and also displayed a gay couple. Even though hundreds of tweeters voiced that they were boycotting the brand, I don’t think it will cause a huge backlash on the brand or its profits.

            Coca Cola has been around since 1886 and has millions of consumers across the world. It’s been known for being a diverse and globalized brand. Back in 1971, Coca Cola did a similar type of commercial where individuals of different ethnicities sand in unison “I’d like to teach the world to sing.” Even though Coca Cola continuously takes risks with their commercial decisions, I don’t think their Super Bowl commercial will suffer major repercussions.

http://socialmediatoday.com/lien-brusselmans/2143161/which-brand-won-social-super-bowl-infographic

http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/14-pr-and-social-media-winners-from-super-bowl-xlviii_b84431

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/02/03/coca-cola-ad-super-bowl-racism/5177463/