Toronto vs. Montreal

Montreal is cinq à sept.

Toronto is more like… Sanka.

(Groan.)

Future not yet perfect on Blogger

In my attempt to schedule a post on Blogger, I accidentally set the date as 12/05/2008 instead of 05/12/2008, so it was slated to appear in December and not May.

Oops. Realizing my error when the entry didn’t appear as expected, I tried to correct things in post options and was able to successfully change the date. However, Blogger wouldn’t recognize this and kept the post scheduled for December, even though, in edit mode, it was listed as May.

I deleted the date and replaced it a few times. I tried re-saving as a draft. But nothing seemed to work. S0 finally, I copied and pasted the entry into a whole new post, published it and deleted the original. A bit tedious, if you ask me.

Hopefully, they’ll get this glitch corrected. Has anyone else had issues with scheduling on Blogger?

Palette named Canada's #1 beauty PR agency

In a survey of Canadian beauty editors, conducted by Cosmetics magazine and announced in the April/May issue, Palette PR was named the country’s top beauty public relations agency.

Tall poppies be damned. This is exciting news. You can imagine how thrilled we are.

It’s the culmination of four years of dedication, creativity, great projects and clients and commitment to the Palette promise:
- Simplicity – we’re here to make life easier, not more complicated
- Energy – we don’t give up until we get results
- Integrity – we’re always up-front and honest

That’s the same approach we use for all the sectors we work in.

Of course we’d like give a big thanks to Canada’s beauty editors, our talented Quebec partner, ZOI Agency, without whom… and of course, our wonderful P&G Beauty clients: Olay, Herbal Essences, Head & Shoulders, Aussie and Secret.

If this sounds a little like an acceptance speech, I guess it is.

You can read more about the honour here.

Guest blogs

From time to time, I will be inviting various people I know to submit a guest blog to my(PR)palette.

The opinions expressed in these posts are solely those of the author and not necessarily the opinions of this blog or Palette PR.

I hope you enjoy them.

Biting the Bullet

The Magic Bullet, that is; the ‘personal, versatile countertop magician’.

I finally succumbed to temptation and ordered one.

I picked it up from the post office earlier in the week. I was expecting my new Visa card and was more than a bit surprised to see the two oversize white boxes, bound together like the machine and I soon will be.

The outside was emblazoned with the product name and the bold promise: It does ANY job in 10 seconds… or less.

ANY job! No wonder it’s magic.

I mean this is no ordinary blender. It’s a solution to all of life’s problems. Hell, it does pretty much anything. Short of money? The magic bullet sends two machines, so if times are tight, you can sell one. Out of quick meal ideas, there’s a mouthwatering booklet full of them. I’ve yet to try them on a news release or PR plan, but I’m sure the results would be just as good.

I’ve been a fan of the Bullet show for a couple of years now. What an extravaganza! It tells the story of a couple whose motley array of party guests stay the night and turn up in the kitchen the next morning, hungover yet ravenous. And the hosts proceed to do their culinary prestidigitation and satisfy everyone’s rather selfish tastes (though I wonder how many heads are aching from that incessant magic buzz).

I have a confession (if you haven’t already guessed): I watch infomercials. Usually in the middle of the night when I have the flu and am unable to sleep. And in my achy feverish state, nothing seems so hopeful as the life they portray. Whether it’s for a thorough cleansing by Dr. Ho, some one-size-fits-all fitness system, the songs of the name-your-decade hosted by a grizzled former icon of that same decade, it doesn’t matter. They soothe me. Offer me hope and dreams of a more perfect existence. And more than once, I’ve lifted the phone to place a call that I am convinced will not only cure my virus, it will lead me to salvation.

From a communications perspective, I think infomercials do a really good job. Each has its own memorable and entertaining story. They stick to their key messages which are polished till they gleam. And they’re always delivered by a knowledgeable (about one subject anyway) spokesperson; smoothly and, if you’re in the right frame of mind, believably.

And yes, they keep it simple – sometimes too simple. (They’re also repetitive and generally lack artistic merit.)

But for me their biggest triumph is that they play commercials for the commercial within the commercial; ad nauseum. And we accept it. Treat it like a play within a play, but with a 1-800 number instead of subtext.