BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

In the same amount of time that it will take you to read this post, Abraham Lincoln delivered what is perhaps the greatest political oration in American history. Last week marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, which is widely considered to be the greatest enunciation of the fundamental ideals enshrined in the American Constitution. Yet on the day that is was delivered, Lincoln's speech - not to mention his appearance itself - was supposed ... READ MORE

The story of how a clever new advertising campaign for the Motrin pain reliever turned into a nightmare for Johnson & Johnson is really a case of how something old can suddenly be new again. Despite all the furor they generated in the blogosphere and beyond, the ads themselves are really rather benign. It's a clever take on the popular practice of mothers carrying infants in a sling on their chest - something that might give ... READ MORE

It seems that as newspapers continue to shed staff in response to the new media realities they've been forced to confront, the reporters they're casting away are finding a leaner, meaner venue in which to ply their craft. Non-profit websites that employ professional journalists to focus on investigating and breaking local news are popping up all across the country - and causing more than a few headaches for those who sometimes end up in their ... READ MORE

With the presidential race in the rearview mirror and an aura of reconciliation in the air, three political figures that took major media lashings over the last two election cycles are hitting the road for an image makeover. Last week, Mark Foley, John Edwards, and Sarah Palin all made headlines - and while their chances at redemption vary quite a bit, it's clear that all three are looking to take advantage of a post-election period ... READ MORE

In case you were still waiting for concrete evidence that social media buzz really matters to the business world, it's here. What started as a single weekend Twitter post on Motrin's latest ad campaign for the over-the-counter pain reliever evolved into a full-blown crisis for Motrin manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. By Monday morning, the campaign was abandoned and J&J was forced to issue an apology. It started on a Friday night, when blogger Jessica Gottlieb got ... READ MORE

It used to be that wire service coverage represented a major coup for communications professionals. When the Associated Press or Reuters picked up your story, it would be seen in newspapers around the world, picked up by radio and TV stations and - more recently - linked to the inboxes of millions of web-based e-mail users. Most important, you could always depend on the balanced reporting that helped the wires build an almost unassailable brand ... READ MORE

The New York Times Magazine recently published a story about Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle that any corporate communications professional facing pressure from interest groups should read. The piece opens at the abandoned grounds of the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company in Chino California and recounts how a Humane Society undercover investigator surreptitiously taped so-called "downer" cattle wobbling and flopping on their way to the slaughterhouse. The ghoulish video was quickly posted on YouTube and Internet blogs around ... READ MORE

The landslide election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States was a watershed moment in American history - and one that demonstrates just how radically the communications paradigm has shifted in 2008. The rules are changing before our very eyes. Americans have voiced their frustration with business as usual and the bitter partisanship that was beginning to define 21st Century politics. They are hungry for answers to our most pressing problems, ... READ MORE

According to data recently released by law firm marketing consultants Alyn-Weiss & Associates, the number of transactional, corporate, and defense law firms that employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to generate new business has nearly tripled over the last two years. For the better part of the last decade, the plaintiffs' bar remained a full Internet generation ahead of the defense when it came to Web savvy. Now, it seems that the competition - at least ... READ MORE

Last month, the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski published the fifth edition of its annual litigation trends survey. It is the largest survey of its kind - providing valuable insights from 358 in-house counselors in the U.S. and UK on what are likely to be the most significant sources of corporate litigation in the coming year. The survey results confirm the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. For ... READ MORE