The Buzz is on paternity leave for the next little while.

Paternity leave, you say?

Yep.

Read about the good news (and new addition) here!

Keep checking back (and subscribe to the email distribution, too!) because the blog will be back soon!

I am not a Belieber.

I do respect the Kid’s accomplishments, but he does not appear on my iPod.

Justin Bieber has come under fire recently for writing in the guest book at the Anne Frank house that he hoped Anne would have been a Belieber.

So what?

As a Jew and a PR practitioner, not only do I not find this remark offensive, I think the backlash is unwarranted.

The fact is that Anne Frank was a teenager obsessed with Hollywood. She had posters of movie stars. Is it THAT offensive to say that if she was a teenager in 2013 she would likely enjoy Justin bieber’s music?

Was his message self-obsessed? Yes.

Was his message controversial? I guess so.

But the fact remains that Justin Bieber has a target audience of teenage girls. And saying he hoped a teenage girl from any era would be a fan of his music is hardly a crime. Honestly, it’s not even a big deal.

What is a big deal is that Bieber went to Anne Frank’s house, which will inspire millions of people to learn her story of hope and strength.

Perspective: The real, true tragedy is that Anne Frank will never get to tell us exactly what she thinks of Justin Bieber’s music.

#Fandangoing [Fahn-Dahn-Goh-Eeeng] {verb} – to dance to the music of WWE Superstar Fandango.

Earlier this week, I wrote about how the crowd at WWE Monday Night Raw went off-script by voraciously cheering bad guy Dolph Ziggler as he nefariously won the World Heavyweight Championship.

In addition to treating Ziggler’s win like a major star-making moment, the crowd took new character Fandango, a dancer, to a new level. During his match with Kofi Kingston, the crowd…well…Fandangoed:

After the show, WWE leading man John Cena kept the Fandango movement alive, thanking the crowd for their energy and passion:

Fans in the UK, excited by the craze, began downloading the theme song in large numbers – it even hit #11 on the iTunes chart. People are not just enjoying it, they are investing in it.

And now, prospective cheerleaders for the Houston Texans released a video of them #Fandangoing:

Will the craze continue? Will it be a short-term wonder? Is ChaChaLaLa the new Harlem Shake?

Of course, time will tell…we just have to sing along and experience the #FandangoRevolution.

In marketing and communications, the goal is to guide the thoughts and feelings of the public, right?

Dolph Ziggler: Anti-hero for the ages?

You want people to view your brand or product in a certain (positive) light.

It’s almost a Pavlovian formula: See X logo and feel Y emotion.

Consume product A and feel emotion B.

The truth is that customers guide the experience of the brand just as much as the marketing messages do.

McDonald’s launched a social media campaign in January 2012 with the hashtag #McDStories. The aim was for customers to share positive stories about their visits to the fast-food giant…but it quickly became a dumping ground for nightmares and horror stories.

New Coke. Another failure. Coca-Cola updated their classic recipe in 1985 after extensive taste-testing. The backlash was so extensive, the original recipe was back on shelves within three months. While some say the flop actually revitalized the brand, New Coke remains a marketing punchline.

World Wrestling Entertainment, a company I discuss in this space often, is not immune from the perils of things going against the grain. And sometimes, they embrace it and create a magic moment.

A great example came this week on Monday Night Raw.

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, a good guy, has struggled to connect with the audience. Something about his presentation just isn’t clicking.

Noted bad guy Dolph Ziggler earned a contract that allowed him an automatic title match against the World Heavyweight Champion.

Del Rio, in the story, sustained an ankle injury in his match Monday against bad guy Jack Swagger.

As Del Rio writhed in pain, unable to walk or stand, Ziggler’s music played and he made his way down to the ring to cash in his contract.

Villain preys on wounded hero. Simple story.

But Ziggler was wildly cheered by the crowd who respected his talents, and were bored with Del Rio, who struggled to connect with the audience as the cheered warrior.

And when I say wildly cheered, it’s a true understatement. The crowd was molten for him, despite his evil ways.

Despite taking advantage of a hurt opponent (a decidedly villainous tactic), Ziggler’s pinfall victory for the title almost literally blew the roof off the arena.

Ziggler got his moment to shine on national TV – winning the World Heavyweight Championship, soaking in the accolades that villains rarely experience.

The audience on Monday night decided that while Ziggler may be a villain, he was going to be the villain they loved to cheer for.

It’s unlikely that Ziggler will be a hero anytime soon. An anti-hero? Perhaps. But definitely not a “say your prayers, take your vitamins” hero.

The customer was right and the moment was fantastic.

Three years ago, I asked a simple question in this space:

Does PR need a theme song?

Watch most any TV show and there is an identifiable track usually at the start of the show that sets the stage.

From “Friends” to “Family Ties,” theme songs are a part of our culture. When we hear the songs, we think of that show and the feelings/emotions it raised in us.

Looking for a real song to link to the industry, I suggested “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders (click the link above for why).

But an intrepid PR pro has upped the game.

Daniel Davidzon, a Toronto-based media guy recorded an original theme song for the industry: Pitchin’ Ain’t Easy

From the news release:

“Pitchin Ain’t Easy is a love letter to the lunacy and organized chaos of the public relations field that leaves even the most harried PR professional hungry for more action,” declared Mr. Davidzon, juggling a reporter’s phone call, updating various social media channels, and drafting remarks for his CEO while eating lunch at his desk and proofreading this press release. “Public relations endures as a creative and fast-paced industry with considerable time spent promoting the efforts of others and little promoting ourselves. Frankly, we deserve better.”

The “love letter” is witty and clever, hitting close to home on the inside of the PR world. (Perhaps it should be subtitled “PR People Problems?)

Davidzon isn’t Jay-Z or Snow (Canadian reference FTW!), but his flow is true and clean…and a lot of fun.

Enjoy!

Recently, I got the opportunity to apologize, face to face, to someone.

It had been more six years since we had last spoken and it took a chance encounter at a Target to make it happen.

The apology was sincere and specific. And, while I can’t speak for the person I apologized to, being able to say those words eased a burden I had been carrying for a long time.

In the communications world, we are quick to call on public figures to apologize immediately for remarks that may be considered offensive or insensitive.

Several months ago, we dissected here the horrible apology actor Angus T. Jones unleashed onto the world after slamming his own show, “Two and a Half Men.”

In that post, I brought up the concept of apologizing FOR a specific act as a way to strengthen your ap0logy.

Another element to consider is timing: When should you ap0logize?

San Francisco 49ers defensive back Chris Culliver, during Super Bowl week said that there weren’t any homosexual players on the team and “they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can’t be…in the locker room man. Nah.”

The next day, Culliver issued an apology, saying “that’s not what I feel in my heart.”

Really?

After your instant – and strong – reaction, you realized a few hours later that it wasn’t really how you felt? Please.

In cases like Culliver’s, the quick-turnaround apology comes off entirely hollow – that you are upset that people are mad at you more than feeling remorse for what you said. His apology was akin to a little kid being dragged by his parents to say he’s sorry to his neighbor for being rough while playing kickball. Just because you said it doesn’t mean you meant it.

For another example of a meaningless apology, Chris Brown kinda-sorta apologized when he recently Instagrammed photos of him smoking weed in Amsterdam (where it is legal). I found the quasi-apology way more enlightening about Brown than the images of him doing something legal.

Perhaps time away from the situation gives you perspective to truly think through what you are apologizing for and why you are sorry?

Doing something dumb and then immediately apologizing for it provides no context for the apology. It’s impossible to convince most anyone you learned from your actions.

Perhaps we, as an industry, should be less-quick on the “APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY” trigger.

Because an insincere apology doesn’t fool, or help, anyone.