Our friends at the excellent Spin Sucks blog asked a pointed question earlier this week:

“Will a lack of creativity be the demise of the PR industry?”

Given the fact that our business continues to grow while so many others struggle, we see the “demise” aspect of this headline as a rhetorical glimpse into the distant future. But it’s very interesting. Stated another way: Are PR and marketing professionals so scared of offending someone, anyone that they avoid all things colorful, interesting and remotely creative? And will dull, run-of-the-mill PR efforts grow so common as to negate the value of the service itself? Most companies can write their own press releases, right?

The post primarily concerned Pizza Hut’s recent PR controversy. To recap: The company offered a lifetime’s supply of pizza to anyone who would use last week’s “town hall” debate to ask the presidential candidates whether they prefer sausage or pepperoni. Quite a few feathers got ruffled, and Pizza Hut’s marketing reps quickly backed down, announcing that the campaign would move online as part of a “natural progression.”

Yet Forbes contributor Aaron Perlut called the campaign “brilliant” and claimed that its demise in the face of public outrage was a perfect example of the PR industry’s biggest flaw:

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We’ve recently written a good bit about Oreo’s masterful use of social media. The “Daily Twist” campaign is a great way for the cookie giant to get topical by jumping on trends like Gay Pride and the Mars rover story while attracting a lot of attention with its robust Facebook presence.

Today brings the tale of a rare, if lighthearted, social media misstep by Oreo. Yesterday the company’s consistently cute Twitter feed posed what could have been a great customer-engagement question: “Ever bring your own Oreo cookies to the movie theater? #slicksnacker”. This message, complete with too-cute hashtag, is both on-brand and a little naughty—nearly everyone has snuck food or drink into a movie at some point, right?

Good show, Oreo. But the social media pros at AMC Theatres noticed the tweet too—and saw an opportunity to poke a little fun. AMC’s feed re-posted the message, adding “NOT COOL, COOKIE.” Nice way to co-opt another brand’s style without really insulting or attack them. Oreo responded with “Fair enough, @AMCTheatres, but don’t hate the player, hate the game ”. A little cliche, but it will do.

This is a fun story, and it reminds us of the right way to do corporate social media: with personality. This little interaction made it very obvious that there are real flesh-and-blood humans operating these feeds, that they value audience interactions, and that the guys responsible for social media at AMC are on top of even distantly related trends. This might explain why AMC has nearly three times as many followers as Oreo, no?

Gokul Rajaram, the man who operates Facebook’s crucial ad-based revenue stream, happens to be unusually forthcoming when discussing the challenges facing the company as its team tries to make enough money to satisfy all those sweaty investors.

In a telling recent interview with AdExchanger, he outlined the seven biggest challenges that social media’s top dog must address.

In summary:

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New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg (that’s “The Dictator” to his haters and “El Bloombito” to fans of his poorly spoken Spanish) seems to be losing his ongoing PR war with the American waistline. Today, however, the big dog gained some unexpected corporate support for his controversial “soda ban”, which will be subject to a vote by the city’s Board of Health next week. (We should note that the members of this board were appointed by the mayor himself.)

After declaring victory over the mighty forces of tobacco and trans-fatty acids, the mayor has dedicated his latest salvo in the obesity battle to manipulating consumer behaviors by limiting the size of sugary drinks served at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and other common soda spots. His proposal makes sense in a way: Everyone agrees that Americans drink far too much soda, and reducing our dependence on sugary drinks may be the easiest way to lower our calorie count.

But the move also tickled New York’s famously independent (dare we say Libertarian) streak. It led to the creation of a group called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, inspired Coca-Cola to run a PR counterattack and even convinced some opponents to drag their not-quite-obese bodies down to city hall for a good old protest. Will the words of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig soften their convictions? Probably not.

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Today in Negative Retail News, New York State’s attorney general is investigating the makers of popular caffeinated energy drinks like Amp, Monster and 5 Hour Energy for playing a little loose with their facts and ingredients. On the other side of the grid, nearly every opinionator across the board—and yes, that includes Fox News—has pointed out a series of glaring inaccuracies in the speech that Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan gave at his party’s convention last night (while also noting that his presentation was impressive and that he hit all the right notes for the home team).

How do these stories relate? They both highlight the role of the independent fact-checker, and they raise a series of questions about the value of accuracy and transparency in public relations. So:

• Does the additional of “herbal supplements” like guarana allow 5-Hour Energy and Monster drinks to contain “undisclosed” amounts of caffeine large enough to raise eyebrows?
• Are they particularly dangerous when paired with alcohol?
• Are big soda makers like Pepsico and Coca-Cola downplaying the unhealthy aspects of their most popular get-up-and-go products?

And:

• Did Paul Ryan serve as the best-known Republican representative on the bipartisan debt commission that he just excoriated President Obama for ignoring?
• Did he in fact vote against the very proposal that he seemed to suggest the President should have followed?

The answer to all these questions is yes. But in the interests of the brands in question, does it even really matter?

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A fascinating story in The New York Times today considers a strangely uneven relationship: Despite the fact that rapper, producer and super-mogul Sean “Jay-Z” Carter owns only a fraction of a percent of the NBA’s Brooklyn-bound Nets franchise, his heavy hand is visible in nearly every corner of their re-branding project.

Not only is Jay-Z headlining opening week at Brooklyn’s monster Barclays Center venue, aka the Nets’ new home field; he also helped design the team’s logos and advised their PR squad on everything from music selections (more indie, “less Jersey”) to security practices (“be sensitive” when checking attendees for weapons).

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CEO visibility, or lack of it, is an ongoing PR issue and one that has been frequently mentioned at media industry events. Examples abound of corporate leaders who are tight-lipped during tough times or deliver misleading comments. Many CEOs only make a public appearance when the news is favorable or prefer to network with each other at gatherings such as the annual summer conference in Sun Valley for media and tech leaders.

Instead of covering this topic in our usual manner, we’re borrowing an alternate approach from Calvin Trillin. As an author, humorist and longtime contributor to The New Yorker, Trillin often wrote poems about politicians and current events. Inspired by his rhyming wizardry, we thought this would be an effective style for tackling the CEO dilemma.

CEO (In)visibility

The problem:

CEOs are ultimately accountable
Even when issues seem insurmountable
In the business world there is constant disaster
If not handled well, things get worse much faster

CEOs collect exorbitant pay
But when crises hit most have nothing to say
Or if they do it is after delay
Or they use stand-ins who get in the way

Richard Edelman, a renowned PR pro
Thinks CEO public face-time has hit a new low

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ACRO, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations, has a very serious issue with the new Toshiba ad. So outraged is the organization that the executive director, Douglas Peddicord, PhD, sent a letter to Toshiba executives asking them to join the conversation about a global problem that the group is addressing.

You see, in the ad (above), the main character refers to clinical trial participants as “guinea pigs” and “test monkeys.” Offended yet?! Because that’s it.
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Goldman Sachs has a new Twitter account, launched on Friday for its shareholder meeting. And what did we learn from those meeting updates? That the account was live, shareholders support everything the company is doing, and the meeting is over. Riveting.

The other four tweets have focused on the company’s CSR efforts — investments in clean tech and renewable energy — and its work with small businesses. The company has nearly 12,000 followers.

The account is part of a new PR campaign launched by the financial firm’s communications head, Richard Siewert Jr., who started just as Greg Smith blew our minds with his New York Times resignation letter to the world. Siewert has been holding internal meetings explaining the new strategy, which is based on increased transparency. We’ll need a little more than these first few tweets.

*Make that seven times, as of 5/29 a.m.

When being interviewed, it’s OK to admit that there are things you don’t know or need to follow up on. But when you’re the CEO of a company and you’re unaware of the big things happening in your industry, that’s a big ‘ol fail.

Case in point: Time Warner Cable’s CEO Glenn Britt says he has a dream to put the Internets in the TV. “Britt went on to lay out his vision for the future, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it basically reads like a product description for AirPlay, a service that wireless[ly] streams videos from your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your television via the Apple TV box,” Business Insider reports. And also, The New York Times reported it. Zoinks.