Borkowski Media Trends: Wild Horses, Rishi x Hardest Geezer & MORE
PLUS Wilson Rebels against Baron Cohen || Farage's Adidas #Ad: 'False Flag'?
The Apocalypse Neighs
London was not horsing around on Thursday when four horses bolted across the city, one covered in blood. The horses were allegedly spooked whilst participating in a military training exercise as part of the Household Cavalry (the King’s official bodyguard) based at Hyde Park barracks near Buckingham Palace.
Whilst the story of their unexpected escape is likely enough to be ‘newsworthy,’ the sight of horses charging through the busy streets of London at rush hour elicited more than the expected horror, fear, and shock. Twitter exploded with over 14,000 tweets commenting on the story and tracking the animals as they continued their unbridled dash through the city centre, with mainstream news featuring over 2000 mentions.
Why the obsession with the horses? In addition to the obvious surrealistic horror of the escapade, the white horse dripping blood was quickly picked up by Twitter users as a metaphor for the state of Britain. Analogies were drawn with the horsemen of the apocalypse and other bad omens. The timely stopping of Big Ben only added to the general mood that we are in dark times. Britain it seems, is not feeling optimistic.
Speaking of running wild through London, the horses seem to have stolen the spotlight from Rishi Sunak, who was also spotted on the run yesterday morning with The Hardest Geezer (more on that below). Unlike the horses, the PM did not manage to elicit much media coverage. Maybe next time, he should try pulling a more original stunt.
Rishi Sunak vs The Hardest Geezer
Earlier this month Russ Cook (aka ‘The Hardest Geezer’) made international news when he completed his challenge of running the entire length of Africa (from south to north). Since his 9,940-mile run, Cook has milked this impressive feat, extending his moment in the spotlight and attempting to be the ultramarathon influencer. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that his recent ‘run’ with Rishi was an opportunity he didn’t pass up. However, it might be the run that broke the camel's back.
Don’t be mistaken - this entire spectacle is a textbook PR campaign. Cook’s viral success is made even more impressive, considering he’s not the first to complete this feat. The World Runners Association recognises Denmark's Jesper Kenn Olsen as the first to run Africa in 2010. But sometimes, ‘the story’ trumps technicalities, especially when Cook ran a longer distance over a shorter period. And this story was set in motion several years before Cook set foot in Southern Africa. Stunts include being buried alive for a week and being the first man to run From Asia to London - all world record-breaking attempts he documented on podcast appearances and social channels.
So why did his Africa run resonate, especially months after he’d set off? Myriad factors but the TikTok and Reels alogrithm favouring his content drawing millions of eyeballs to his videos was the real kicker. If you cast an eye over his YouTube channel, you can see its high production value, not to mention his crew tailing his journey. This was a challenge designed to go viral.
The Hardest Geezer/Rishi media opp serves as two people using one another. The former is slightly more transparent: fame-hungry influencer taking every significant moment to spread his brand far and wide. And for Rishi, it’s something similar to his Elon Musk fireside conversation, where he has one foot out the door doing things that interest him while trying to appear more human for a career outside of politics. While it harms neither, it’s likely the signal that slows down Cook. Now is a good point to move on from an impressive achievement and work on his next big challenge. He’s in danger of ending up in the meme doldrums, i.e. Paul from Traitors or the Wealdstone Raider. Just stay away from the University DJ circuit!
Rebel Wilson’s ‘Tell-All’ Memoir
Connoisseurs of mid-10s slapstick will no doubt be familiar with Rebel Wilson, the Australian actress who became a household name following appearances in Bridesmaids and the Pitch Perfect franchise, as well as a bizarre lawsuit regarding her real age.
Her new book, Rebel Rising, was published this week to poor reviews but significant controversy, mostly focused on a story about an alleged orgy with a minor Royal and, particularly, alleged ill-treatment from Sacha Baron Cohen on the set of the 2016 flop Grimsby. British readers hoping to get all the sordid details will be disappointed, however, as thirty-three lines of the latter chapter’s text have been redacted in the UK release, resulting from a legal challenge by Baron Cohen himself. In the Australian release, the entire chapter has been removed, but it has been broadly acknowledged that the offending sections include allegations of sexual impropriety.
The last couple of years have seen a slew of celebrity memoirs, notably The Woman in Me by Britney Spears and it-girl Julia Fox’s Down the Drain, but despite the significant column inches generated by those works, few have attracted the same level of attention as Wilson’s, despite her arguably not being a star of the same calibre. Baron Cohen’s argument was that the passage was defamatory, and his lawyers provided ample supporting evidence, but in pursuing legal avenues, he has inadvertently created far greater coverage and awareness of the book itself, a classic example of the Streisand Effect in action. The allegations in question have been widely reported upon in US media and are available to any curious British readers who may choose to go down that Internet rabbit hole.
It's been a rough few months for Baron Cohen, who recently separated from wife Isla Fisher and now faces increased curiosity about his professional conduct. But the case speaks to the specificities of the British legal system and the ways in which it can be used for what is essentially an act of media relations – while the legal victor, appearing censorious in a matter of this nature, in the post #MeToo landscape, presents reputational difficulties. Baron Cohen has always thrived on outrage, and for his die-hard fans it is likely not an issue. Wilson, too, has benefitted from the increased publicity for what is, by all accounts, a fairly rote biography.
Baron Cohen may well put a stop to the story, at least on these shores, but it’s hard to get away from the sense that he hasn’t done himself many favours.
Farage’s ‘False Flag’ Adidas '#Ad?
A fortnight ago Rishi Sunak apologised for the damage he did to the credibility of popular trainer brand Adidas Sambas after wearing a pair in a podcast interview, during one of his infinite attempts to appear down with the kids (see above).
Adidas were presumably still reeling from the reputation damage caused by a stuffy right wing politician co-opting a product marketed to the hipsterishly progressive when no less an influencer than Nigel Farage poked fun at the incident by posting an Instagram reel of himself in the style of a #ad wearing Adidas Gazelles and stating his preference for Adidas over the “politically correct” Nike:
Farage is a relentless clout chaser who would do just about anything for clicks, but for him to jump on a two-week old joke, and in the process “ruin” another product by the same brand, almost feels targeted. This has led to some only-half-joking speculation that the Farage video, far from being Adidas endorsed influencer content, was in fact a ‘false flag’ attack on Adidas by Nike.
That’s right, in an attempt to exploit the opportunity created by legions of East London hipster lefties flinging their Sambas into the River Lee canal, Nike doubled down and decided to hijack the Gazelle market with an even more powerfully repulsive ‘disinfluencer’. Don’t wait for Rory Sutherland’s TED talk on this new and powerful marketing phenomenon: you heard it here first...