The skinny on Versace

For years, stick thin models have paraded the runway defining fashion and beauty and setting the standard for how high class looks. However, now that the Versace family has publicly admitted 20 year old heiress Allegra Versace is undergoing treatment for her long battle with anorexia, could that be about to change? According to an article on CNN.com () The fashion industry has recently been forced to defend itself against brutal claims that its unrealistic versions of femininity lead women to develop eating disorders. its difficult to deny the claims however, when only last year the Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos died of heart failure during a fashion show, Ana Carolina Reston of Brazil died of complications brought on by anorexia and now Versace's own heriess is publicly suffereing from the disease. Will this finally be what it takes to turn the tides in the fashion indsutry and stop glamorizing such an unhealthy look? Spain has already gone as far as banning overly skinny models from the runway and Italy has signed a pact not to use girls under sixteen or stick-thin adult models, however these measures are far from being implemented universally. Now, however, with a name with such as Versace under the microscope it is clear the message has gone far enough. when your own daughter becomes deadly ill due to the message your company portrays it brings reality home, in a way perhaps giving them a taste of their own medicine. i personally think it is horribly sad what the girl has gone through and should definitely leave an impression on her parents, family and the indsutry as a whole. It’s unlikely that the designer community could afford to remain mute to a situation when the offspring of one of the illustrious names is so publicly suffering. that in mind, i think Versace's next best move would be taking action to prove that not only do they care about Allegra and realize the harm the industry caused her, but also the pain and suffering so many others have endured trying to be thin. if handled properly, this situation really could cause revolutionary changes in the world of fashion.

Diamond doesn't sparkle now

Over the past few weeks, the FDA reports at least 76 dogs have died as a result of eating different brands of contaminated Diamond Pet Food. As of now, the company has recalled 19 varieties of dog and cat food in which tests showed high levels of aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxic chemical that comes from a fungus found on corn and other grains that causes severe liver damage in animals. although by this point the company has been able to narrow the contaminated batch to varities produced Oct. 11 in a South Carolina plant, they still took measures of recalling products manufactured at a Gaston, S.C., plant from around September to November 2005. The range of date codes being reviewed are "Best By 01-March-07" through Best By " 11-June-07". To make matters worse for the Diamond Pet Food Co., not only is this a nationwide crisis but the recall products have been exported to at least 29 countries, including countries within the European Union as well. From a public relations standpoint, of course this is a crisis for the Diamond company; the pet food they are producing is invisibly contaminated and killing pets. Currently Diamond officials say they are doing what they can to help affected pet owners. According to an MSNBC report, Mark Bringmann, the company’s chief operating officer commented “It’s going to take some time to take care of all these customers, and we’re going to do it,” but it will take more than time to re-establish their image as a reliable pet food brand. Because of the scale of the incident, the image of all brands falling under Diamond's control are now tarnished. Diamond has promised to reimburse pet owners for vet bills and other costs associated with the aflatoxin poisoning, and officials now believe pets in Europe and other areas outside the country where the food is distribute may be affected as well. Money, however, only goes so far in accounting for the life of a loved pet lost to the contaminated food. Bringmann is right to say that it will take time to recover from this incident, however more than that is necessary if Diamond hopes to regain their reputation in the pet food industry. Standards need to be raised, taking strides to ensure food is properly inspected so an attrocity such as this will not occur again. Although reimbursement for medical bills and other such expenses may be beneficial in aliviating some stress, i think it is important the company issues a public apology ensuring they truly understand how their products have affected the lives of some envoked unnecessary pain and suffering. Also, future efforts to change and ensure such an incident never occurs again should be made clear. Although time and reimbursement may be crucial, i think a statement of genuine public apology and regret along with a pledge to change and raise future standards are also mandatory in restoring Diamonds image and allowing them to move foreward from here.

Health Department should clean up act, and restaurants

According to an article recently published in PR week, not only have the rats of NYC infected the names of Taco Bell, KFC and various other restaurants in the area, but the NYC Department of Health is now perhaps the most tainted of all. The health department has obviously been involved from the beginning, as ensuring cleanliness standards in eating facilities falls under their responsibilities, however now not only do they not appear to have control over the situation but a recent incident seems to suggest they don't really care either. Reportedly, on February 22nd of this year an inspector from the department performed a routine inspection of a popular New York City Taco Bell/KFC chain in which no problems were reported. Immediately following the inspection it was uncovered that there were actually rats residing in and contaminating the building and the very next day another inspection verified the infestation. this transitioned a large portion of the rat blame from the chain itself to the health department when it was discovered the inspector had actually only performed a partial inspection the day before the incident. This created an instant PR problem for the department because now it not only appeared they were not sufficiently performing their responsibilities but they were also unaware of the quality to which employees were performing theirs. although under scrutiny, however, Geoffrey Cowley, associate commissioner for communications at the New York City health department considered the case a "perceived problem" as opposed to an actual crisis situation. He explained "It wasn't a crisis in the sense that we had a real problem; we had a perceived problem." However if you ask me, any health department that becomes associated with missing rat infestation due to a lazy inspection has somewhat of a crisis on their hands. Since the incident the department has been trying to push the "perception" viewpoint, urging people to understand. The issue was handled internally and they have been responding to press inquires, updating people, putting together charts and data, basically doing everything in their power to show how the department functions and why it is should not be an issue of permanent distrust. Cowley said the plan was to stay in front of the story and be as transparent as possible. As of now, that inspector has been removed from field duty and there has been investigation into his work. According to Cowly, "We saw a lot of images on TV and stories written from perspectives that made us look bad, no question about that. But you don't get to look good all the time, you have to accept that you're going to get bad press once in a while. So in that sense we took a hit, but I don't think we've been discredited in any way." My opinion however is that this is a somewhat feeble attempt at straying from the blame of the incident. the fact of the matter is a department health inspector minimally performed his/her duties allowing rats to continue residing in a public restaurant. of course bad press is to be expected and it seems hard to find a perspective that would see this fallacy as OK. maybe Cowly himself doesn't see the department as being discredited, but as a consumer i personally will think twice before eating at such a place, regardless of an inspectors go ahead. I think it would have made more sense for the department to take greater responsibility for the incident and perhaps adjust standards to ensure something like this does not occur again. Instead of staying in the background i think it would be much more beneficial for everyone if the health department took some responsibility and cleaned up their act, as well as their restaurants.

by this point in time in Keith Richards career, public comments pertaining to various drug use are nothing new. what is new, however, is the concept of incorporating his own dead father into the mix. according to an article published on MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17933669/) last Tuesday, Richards even outdid himself. the location was London, the witness British music magazine NME and the statement: “The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father.” It is hard to tell if there is any genuinity in this statement, as it is in a twisted way imaginable, however was immediately denoted a joke once the word began to spread. Now, whether or not Richards was really joking in this statement seems almost irrelevant. even if the statement had no truth, the fact that he would publicly joke about such a thing is almost as bad as actually doing it. Its hard to say where Richard himself really stands in this whole thing, if the negative publicity is even an issue to him, but even if the comment holds no weight with him it surely has significance to Disney who has recently hired Richards to play Teague Sparrow, the father to Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in the newest edition to the billion-dollar franchise Pirates of the Caribbean, which is releasing its third installment, At World’s End, on May 25. since cocaine mixed with a dead man's ashes doesn't necessary support the image Disney tries to portray, i think it would be best for them to keep Richards as far from the spotlight as possible. the former Rolling Stones guitarist has already received so much media attention regarding his comments that keeping him quiet and not allowing the comments to associate themselves with the movie release would probably be the safest route to take. anything drawing attention to Keith Richards off the big screen could rekindle the comments, tying them to Disney and that does not seem like anything Disney wants to accomplish.

binging Home Depot home again

Traditionally, the Home Depot's mission has been simple; sell hammers, light bulbs and paint brushes to help the self-helper. Over the past six years, however, former CEO Robert Nardelli's mission was not exactly in correspondence. Under Nardellis reign, employee hours were ritualistically cut and older, experienced workers who gave the chain its reputation for helpful, expert staff members were alienated. Under this previous CEO it seemed that the Home Depot was turning its focus more from do-it-yourself-shoppers to a fast-growing supply business, focused on professional builders which siphoned resources and attention from its far bigger retail division. Although booking revenue of $90 billion last year, new stores open less than a year saw business continually falling behind that of competitor Lowe’s, These issues have weighed on the stock price, which has remained stagnant for the last four years, not to mention to enormous $210 million severance package Nardelli received upon leaving Home Depot. Now, however, there is a new name in charge and he sees things quite differently. New CEO Frank Blake is making his presence known in a hurry. Within the first 40 days of his tenure Blake has already showing signs of his intentions to make drastic changes in order to bring Home Depot back to its roots. To start, Blake has sharply cut his own pay, put an activist investor on the board and nudged out four former General Electric executives recruited by Mr. Nardelli. Also, he has made strides towards integrating top management back into the flow of the company by resorting to the inverted triangle model of company relationships. In this model employees are on top with CEO at the bottom. According to an article published in the NY Times, “It’s not about me,” Mr. Blake told investors and analysts in introductory meetings. As of recent, however, Blake has gone above and beyond any previous marketing the Home Depot has ever been involved in, realizing they have had some serious damage done to their do-it-yourself consumers over the past 6 years, Blake’s newest merger with TLC show 'Take Home Handyman.' much like Sears on Trading Spaces, Home Depot will sponsor all the do-it-yourself equipment for the show about do-it-yourselfers who need some help doing it themselves. In my opinion, if Blake’s main goal in taking control of the company is to reposition it as the do-it-yourself supply head quarters again, this sponsorship is the golden opportunity. Not only is it non-traditional advertising that will really get the name Home Depot out there again, but it will certainly reestablish Home Depot as less contractor, more you. Gold star on this one, Mr. Blake, your on the right track.

Oh, Dick Cheney

First of all, when one achieves status as the vice president of a nation, they must accept the fact that their private lives may no longer be so private and personal information has the tendency of finding its way into the public light. Dick Cheney is no exception. From the start Dick Cheney has played his role in office offering the most conservative counsil to the president and making it clear where he stands on every debatabl issue. Proceeding the 2004 elections, it was his party that brought back to life what the public came to think of as the extreme importance over the issue of gay marriage. His party made it clear this was wrong to an extent that there was a need for the implcation of an entirely new amendment abolishing the possibilty of gay marriage. Now, three years later, this vice preisdant originally so adement about the wrongs of homosexuality is mind boggled that someone would not only dare to publicly question his pregnant, lesbian daughter, but ask how he feels about it as well. when questioned on the matter in a situation room interview by CNN's Wolf Blitzer recently, Cheney's response was brief and to the point: "I think you're out of line." In my opinion, he is out of line. this question was not out of line and if you are the vice president of the USA and your home life and persnal actions are directly contridicotry of the ideals you are trying to persuade a country to believe, then you had better be ready to respond to questions on the issue. I dont think its asking anything too significant to prepare a response to such a question, especially considering the interview occured on public television and the topic was bound to come up. Dick Cheney does not maintain an incredibly respected VP status right now, and i really dont think his refusal to respond to his hyprocracy on a weighted issue helps. At this point in time Dick should just realize his time is almost up and at least have the decency to not be rude when it comes to disucssing issues he illuminated. it seems ubsurd that with all the problems and issues going on in our country and the rest of the world that Dick Cheney's pregnant lesbian daughter would have any significance at all, but it is he who made it that way. when sheding light on the issue of gay marriage prior to the previous election, he should have foreseen future implications considering his own life would be affected by it. As public opinion of Dick Cheney continues to plumit, the only advice i can offer is Dick, you made your bed, now sleep in it.

Oprah in Africa

In Johannesburg, South Africa, a country still healing from years of apartheid and oppression, many have come to view Oprah Winfrey as more than an American, but an angel. in January, 2006, Oprah and a special selection of African girls cut the tape and opened doors to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for girls. Built on 52 acres, this innovate facility for grades 7-12 is comprised of 28 buildings including a theater, library, dining hall, classrooms and dormitories, nothing the country has ever seen. In 2002 Oprah announced the idea for her dream school by saying "I want to create a school for smart girls who will lead this country into glory." just how smart became clear once the application process started and only 450 of the 3000 applicants would be accepted. although there have been an array of criticisms about the school, ranging from choosing south Africa as opposed another oppressed country, or discriminating against males, when it comes down to it, you cant make everyone happy. regardless of who it is not helping, this modern school in a developing world provides a life changing opportunity for girls who didn't have a chance. Oprah says, "When you change a girl's life, it's not just that life, you start to affect a family, a community, a nation. I'm telling you, women are going to change the face of Africa." and there is nothing to criticize about that. i personally feel that all intrinsic benefits aside, this is a grate public move on the part of Oprah Winfrey. other criticisms in the past come from members the black community who at times saw some of Oprah's actions as nearly discriminatory. the fact that she is giving this amazing opportunity to girls in Africa is not only a great act of philanthropy but a great act of PR as well. by building this dream school not only does Oprah saturate Africa with her name and mission, but becomes a truly global brand creating potential for South Africa to be a great nation with truly inspiring and deserving leaders. when the day comes for these girls to graduate and go on to play their roles in the world, whatever they accomplish in their lives will always be traced back to Oprah Winfrey. through this process, not only is Oprah making a contribution to the world, but writing her name in the history books and ensuring her legacy lives on.