Got Any Better Ideas for BP?

Top Ten Ways BP Can Improve Its Image

10 .Change "BP" from "British Petroleum" to "Bunnies and Puppies"
9. Scrap the snotty British accents
8. Cry on "Oprah"
7. Take a page from AFLAC. New mascot: wise-cranking oil-soaked duck
6. Find Bin Laden
5. Start making cookies. Who doesn't love cookies?
4. What's wrong with our image?
3. Switch from "Drill Baby Drill" to "Help Daddy Help"
2. Instead of their image, maybe they can focus on fixing the damn leak!
1. For goodness sakes, get Iron Man to do something!

The Late Show with David Letterman

Toyota Crisis

I'd give Toyota a C- on the recall crisis. Finally, President and COO Jim Lentz provided comments this week, but looked less than transparent when ABC's Brian Ross met him with camera rolling. Hey, executives, how about trying this line: "We don't want anyone to get hurt driving our vehicles. So we are working around the clock to get this fixed. We are trying alternatives to see which can be implemented the quickest to get Toyota owners back on the road."

When a reporter persists, say: "I'd love to answer any questions you have. As to your question why we didn't act sooner, we acted immediately, but had conflicting information about what was causing the problem, so our research teams have been working to find answers for different combinations of issues."

Now, I don't know if that is the truth. For all I know, Toyota executives were off at wild parties not even knowing that people were dying driving their cars. When they evade questions and take too long to talk to the press, we all assume the worst.

The Tylenol Test

Dateline: Illinois. In 1982, the makers of Tylenol spent $100 million to rehab the brand when seven people died in Chicagoland after tampering. Despite the tragedy, Tylenol survived and the incident is a case study for public relations students. The spin doctors, Hill & Knowlton offered this advice: "Tell the truth. Tell it all. Tell it now." It's terrific advice for any person or corporation facing a crisis. Think of the newsmakers who would have not gone to court or prison if they had told the truth early on in a scandal.

Now, the governor of Illinois is facing impeachment. He's also a master manipulator of the media. In America, he's innocent until proven guilty. But in the jury of the press, if I were his Soundbite Coach, I'd ask him to quit creating news diversions and learn the lesson from the event that happened in his neighborhood 27 years ago: tell the truth.

Making Sense of a Candidate's Gaffe

Maybe the presidential candidate with the fewest verbal misstatements will win the 2008 race. Senator Hillary Clinton's comment about assassination last week may be the final straw that keeps her from getting chosen as VP or cabinet member.

If you missed it, she was making a case for staying in the race. She said her husband didn't wrap up his nomination until June and referenced Robert Kennedy's assassination in June 1968. Some political commentators talked about the inaccuracy of her statement and many took great offense, claiming that Senator Clinton was hinting that she was hanging on in case Barack Obama got assassinated. Others defended her, saying she is a nice person and would wish no physical harm to the senator from Illinois.

As a soundbite coach, the tack I take on it is, "What in the world would I do if I were HER coach?" A couple of learning points from this ill-timed remark may help you in crisis:


1. Exhaustion cripples--As Vince Lombardi said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." I say, "Fatigue makes fools of us all." Don't go in front of the cameras if you've been running on little sleep. Hillary Clinton may be hanging on to her candidacy for many reasons, but hopefully, she wouldn't have made this social blunder on a good night's sleep... which she may not have had for months.

2. Words matter--Word like "assassinate" should seldom be used in political or corporate campaigns. Pastor John Hagee and Senator John McCain parted ways over the use of "Hitler." And Senator Barack Obama probably wishes his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, hadn't used several incendiary phrases. The point is some words (like "hope") inspire and others inflame. When you're practicing your soundbites, know what results you're aiming for and use words accordingly.

3. Good apologies help; bad apologies make it worse--Mrs. Clinton's apology about using the assassination reference left me wanting more. She said she hoped she didn't offend the Kennedy family--but what about the Obama family?

If I were her coach, I would've counseled her to apologize like this: "During this tough week for the Kennedy's, I hate that my remarks might have reminded them of an even sadder moment in their family's history. And I would never wish ill on my colleague in the Senate and presidential candidate, Barack Obama. I did not mean to insinuate that I was still in the race because something bad might happen to him. I am still in this race because people deserve a choice for their Democratic candidate."

If you find yourself needing to apologize, make sure you cover all the people who could be offended and end on a strong note.

This history-making campaign will continue to give us fodder for coaching moments. Let's hope future candidates and newsmakers will learn all they can.

Maybe I Was Wrong

Friday morning, on the radio show that I co-host, I shared the opinion that John Edwards should have pulled out of the 2008 presidential race after learning that his wife's cancer had returned. Take care of her now and run later, I said. He's still a young man at 53, and he's not even leading in the Democratic polls this time around.

My opinion was based on life experience. Five years ago, a co-worker's wife was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in her spine, after she'd been treated for breast cancer a few years earlier. She died about 18 months later.

But after getting more information about the Edwards' decision, I am less judgemental. Oh, I'm still concerned about the younger Edwards children. But after watching the "60 Minutes" interview, I like the spin the John and Elizabeth are taking. It's an "embrace life" attitude, and it's inspiring. Thousands of cancer survivors are resonating with Elizabeth's position. One fact that swayed my opinion is that people are living longer with incurable cancer.

Will sympathy help the Edwards campaign? It may be soon to tell. As a soundbite coach, I applaud John's statement to Katie Couric: "There's not a single person in America that should vote for me because Elizabeth has cancer. Not a one. If you're considering doing it, don't do it. Do not vote for us because you feel some sympathy or compassion for us. That would be an enormous mistake. The vote for the presidency is far too important for any of those things to influence it."

One pundit says this experience will help John Edwards humanize his campaign. For instance, when Edwards talks about healthcare, voters will know he's experienced the system.

Another plus of this announcement has been all the nice things the other candidates have said. They're wishing Elizabeth well. Even Tony Snow, the White House spokesperson, whose cancer has returned, said Mrs. Edwards is setting a wonderful example of how to live with cancer.

My mind is not made up on this issue. I still think if I had the diagnosis Elizabeth does, I'd want to spend my last days laughing on a beach, not working for votes, traveling in a bus.

Even Katie Couric said that's not how she'd choose to spend her finite time.

And John reminded her that we're all different and none of us is promised any time... as he found out when his 16-year-old son died.

Here's what my mind is made up on... if I were his media coach, I'd be proud of John Edwards.