Alec Baldwin on “Late Night with David Letterman”

The Daily Mail has removed the story it posted stating that Alec Baldwin’s wife Hilaria was tweeting during James Gandolfini’s funeral on Thursday. After further investigation, it turns out that the reporter, George Stark, who’s in Los Angeles, didn’t take the time difference between the East and West Coast into account. The tweets actually went up after the funeral.

The Daily Mail has apologized “for any distress caused,” but the Kraken was already released and Baldwin had some apologizing of his own to do.

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Jennifer Lopez took her show on the road to Turkmenistan this weekend, performing at an event organized by the China National Petroleum Corp. In the audience: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the leader of the former Soviet country. And, what do you know?! It was his birthday. So JLo did her best Marilyn Monroe and busted out her rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Unfortunately, Berdimuhamedow is the leader of a government that Human Rights Watch calls “among the most repressive in the world.” Whoopsie!

JLo’s rep told the Associated Press that if she’d known about the human rights violations the government is accused of, she never would’ve performed.

And remind us again why she didn’t know about them?

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Paula Deen’s Carnival of Disaster Finally Hires Renowned PR Professional

Brands See Opportunity in Gay Marriage Ruling

Did You Waste Time Stockpiling Twinkies? They’re Coming Back To Stores July 15

NBC and Tour de France: Lance Armstrong Never Happened

CEOs Share 10 Key Topics They Focus on During the Day

In yet another sign of the increasingly intimate (one might say co-dependent) relationship between PR and marketing, two top firms formed partnerships with content creation/digital branding agencies this week.

On Tuesday, Hill + Knowlton Strategies announced its acquisition of Group SJR, a New York/LA-based company focused on attracting audiences and building brand loyalty via strategic insights, “audience curation” and—most importantly—the creation and management of custom content.

The following day, Booz & Company made its new partnership with international branding/advertising agency Leagas Delaney official. LD is a London-based agency specializing in services ranging from advertising creative to media buys.

In both cases, the partners aim to create a sort of super-firm by fusing two or more distinct agencies in order to more completely serve each client’s diverse content/distribution needs—like a digital Power Ranger.

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Nickelodeon is looking for a vice president of retail marketing to join its New York-based team. In this role, your primary responsibility will be to develop and execute effective and innovative marketing, promotional and advertising programs to drive Nickelodeon consumer products business.

You’ll manage a team of 11, and take on a variety of duties involving campaigns and programs for a range of retailers. You’ll be expected to build strong relationships to drive Nickelodeon brand strategies, while representing Nickelodeon in strategic planning meetings and presentations with retailers and licensing partners. Of course, you’ll also oversee budgets, and supervise the development of all retail marketing creative. Read more

Michael Lee has been promoted to CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Greater China. Michael, currently president and COO for Greater China, has over 20 years agency experience, most of it in China. He has played a key role in growing Saatchi & Saatchi with a range of new business wins and most recently being awarded ‘Creative Agency of the Year’ by China Advertising Magazine and R3. In this role Michael will lead the Saatchi & Saatchi offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Michael, who is based in Shanghai, will report to Chris Foster, Chairman and CEO for Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore. (Release)

The Financial Times announced the appointment of Darcy Keller as global communications director, responsible for all external and internal communications across FT Group, effective August 1. Reporting to FT Group CEO John Ridding, Keller also joins the FT Executive Board, which oversees the company’s global strategy and performance. She will relocate from New York to London to lead a global communications team based in London, New York and Hong Kong. Keller brings extensive media and communications experience to the role and has held a number of senior positions at the FT since joining in 2007, including deputy director of global communications, head of the global press office and head of communications in the Americas. Since 2010, she has served on the company’s Senior Management and Digital Executive teams, responsible for the FT’s digital and mobile strategy and growth in recent years. (Release)

Suzan Gursoy has been promoted from interim publisher of Adweek to publisher. She had the “interim” tag since February. Prior to that, Gursoy served as Adweek’s integrated advertising director, from 2010 to 2013. Before Gursoy’s time at Adweek, she oversaw business development for WWD. (FishbowlNY)

Chicago Tribune: Bad PR: U.S. Sues Macy’s Over Treatment of Immigrant Workers

CNNLiving: Clorox Learns Tough PR Lesson that Dads Have Feelings Too

The Washington Post: Texas Senator Wendy Davis’s Shoes Go Viral on Amazon

The New York Times: New Documentary Explores Advertising Industry on Madison Avenue

AdWeek: ‘The Corporate States of America’ Map Defines States According to Brands

WPP has announced that its wholly owned operating company, Hill + Knowlton Strategies has acquired SJR Group LLC (“Group SJR”). Group SJR develops and creates digital content enabling marketers to build brands and cultivate audiences.

Group SJR was founded in 2004 and is based in New York with an office in Los Angeles. Group SJR’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 May 2013 were $13.6 million. Clients include the Motion Picture Association of America, TED, GE, Xerox and Dell. The company employs 50 people.

This investment continues WPP’s strategy of strengthening the Group’s capabilities in digital media and in content development that goes beyond traditional public relations and public affairs. WPP’s digital revenues were well over US$5 billion in 2012 and represented 33% of total Group revenues of US$16.5 billion. The Group is targeting 35-40% of revenues for digital in the next five years. Public relations and public affairs were $1.5 billion in 2012 and represented 9% of total Group revenues of $16.5 billion.

Los Angeles Times: Google Shows Support for Gay Marriage with Rainbow Graphic

Advertising Age: PR Carnage: Paula Deen Dropped by Wal-Mart

Adweek: Digital Marketers Jump on DOMA Decision

The New York Times: Can Wearable Devices Change the Public’s Approach to Health?

PR Daily: Grey Poupon Celebrates Gay Pride Month with Tweaked Ad

We can all agree on one thing: today’s Supreme Court decision invalidating the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was, is, and will continue to be a big deal. It’s not that the justices’ conclusions were a big surprise as most observers did not expect them to uphold existing gay marriage bans on the state or federal level. But it still inspired strong emotions for many Americans.

Of course, politicians of all stripes were quick to offer their takes on the issue.

RT if you agree: http://t.co/ISp1tO2Eqe pic.twitter.com/pKanRtHJK1

— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) June 26, 2013

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: “Jesus wept.”

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

In other words, the debate will go on. Now for the question of the day: how can brands turn this major cultural and political event into a great PR opportunity?

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