Borkowski Weekly Media Trends 04-11-22
Braverman Chinook & Rishi COP27 | Celeb Halloween Costumes | Celebrations Bounty Bar Stunt | Musk Mass Twitter Lay-Offs
To kick off, here are Mark Borkowski’s thoughts on the re-allocation of Arts Council funding, announced today, including major cuts to major institutions:
'First Chopper into Saigon'
Flying in a helicopter is pretty cool, but not when the cost is £3,500 per hour of public money, and the aim is a show of militaristic bravado that would make Kim Jong Un blush.
As thousands struggle to turn the heating on and put food on the table, recently reinstated Home Secretary Suella Braverman is burning taxpayers' cash in a Chinook to visit her failing immigration detention centre in a move clearly designed to add fuel to the growing 'invasion' narrative creeping inwards once again from the anti-immigration far-right.
It's an understatement to say that the Minister failed to fully consider the optics of the stunt. The Home Office snubbed the press on the joyride, further alienating the very people they need to get back onside ( a desperate situation considering most of the media were government supporters mere weeks ago). Nor was there a fancy photo ops to make 'Suella de Vil' look like she was in control of the situation. In fact only sparks generated by this wheeze are a disgruntled and increasingly antagonistic press lobby, an enraged public, and, sadly, thousands of desperate refugees stuck in inhumane conditions hoping for a better life - further vilified by this cheap and hacky ruse designed to make them look like a dangerous enemy.
Rishi COPped out...
U-Turns have returned to No10. It didn't take long. Newly minted 'Deal Leader' Rishi first announced that he wouldn't attend the COP climate conference that generated worldwide headlines in Glasgow last year. Strange for a PM who loves easy positive optics, marketing videos and world leader photo ops. Someone in No.10 clearly made that point, as within the week - during which pressure brewed and headlines bubbled- it turns out he's going after all. I don't think anyone really thought he would snub the event. In doing so, he would tarnish himself further in the green community and climate-conscious public and endear himself to such mavens of the lunatic fringe as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries.
However in an age where we are crying out for earnest public service, perhaps penalising politicians for performing U-turns is the next answer; maybe we should breathe a sigh of relief that he made the right decision…eventually.
Celeb Halloween Costumes
For the first time since the start of Covid, celebrities embraced Halloween with full camp abandon and without having to preface every party pic on social media with an endless list of disclaimers ('everyone tested!').
Of course it was the reigning Queen of Halloween, German supermodel Heidi Klum who pulled off the night's most talked about look as a giant worm (her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, also appeared as a slightly overshadowed fisherman). Videos of Klum rolling around the red carpet of her Halloween shindig in a giant prosthetic shell quickly went viral…with reactions ranging from celebratory to disgusted.
The best of the rest also approached the holiday with the appropriate amount of tongue in cheek – see Lizzo as Marge Simpson, Kerry Washington as Lionel Richie, and Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gillies as Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch from the iconic 2003 mockumentary Best in Show.
On the other end of the spectrum, Elon Musk's "Devil's Champion" places him just wrong side of self-aware…and is perhaps even less tasteful given that around half of the workforce at Twitter now face the truly scary prospect of unemployment following his decision to implement mass redundancies after taking over the company last week.
And never one to miss the opportunity for a bit of self promotion, Mariah Carey waited until the clock struck midnight on 1st November to share a video of herself transforming from a peloton cycling wicked witch to a reindeer riding sexy santa ready to belt out her multi million dollar Christmas classic, All I Want For Christmas Is You. #MariahSZN has begun.
Bounty Bar
Following on from last year's heart-wrenching Bounty return scheme ploy, Mars Wrigley returns with the headline grabbing announcement that a trial run of Bounty-less boxes of Celebrations will be available in select Tesco stores in the run up to Christmas.
The chocolate manufacturer says the decision came after a survey revealed that 40% of us are not a fan of the coconut filled chocolate bar. With the cost of living Grinch threatening to steal another Christmas, Mars Wrigley will be hoping that this divisive but ultimately harmless conversation starter will remind customers that some festive traditions are worth the money.
Despite being a self confessed Bounty hater, Judith Woods declares in The Telegraph that this is yet more evidence that the "Deliveroo generation" needs to toughen up. Meanwhile, the Guardian's Emma Hughes revels in the beleaguered sweet's nostalgic qualities, hoping that this is the beginning of its "redemption narrative."
This is the most likely scenario: the Bounty is destined to go the way of the blue smartie – abandoned by Rowntree in a public move away from the use of artificial colours before making a triumphant return two years later following a social media "outcry" (resulting in more PR for Celebrations…)
Backlash grows as Musk begins to pluck the bird
Internal Twitter chaos has dominated the internet today as soon-to-be ex-Twitter employees took to Twitter to post about personal job cuts online. Many employees have shared experiences of being locked out of their accounts - unable to access emails or internal messaging platforms - in what appears to be a mass exodus enforced by Musk.
In what feels like a Succession plotline, Musk kept flabbergasted employees in the dark until 16.30 GMT. And whilst now-former employees and their supporters united behind #OneTeam, which includes such harrowing tales as Rachel Bonn, who is eight months pregnant, was locked out of her account last night, and is now confirmed to be part of the mass layoffs.
Musk has remained consistent that Twitter needs a colossal shakeup, airing his thoughts (via Twitter) that a subscription model will wean Twitter off its reliance on advertisers. The logic is that by charging $8 for 'Twitter premium', Twitter becomes the product again, not us.
And as Elon ponders critical questions about Twitter's future, he continues to make dad jokes about "small talk", which are likely cryptic Tweets about his plans, obnoxiously dangled in front of the public and those on his proverbial chopping block.
At this juncture, very few doubt Elon's credentials and most likely believe he will table a legitimate roadmap that will change Twitter's fate. But in communications terms, Elon's schtick is beginning to feel tired, especially when thousands of employees lose their jobs.
But has Musk picked a fight with the wrong crowd? In this case ex-employees that know the secret sauce behind making things go viral on a site that plays a vital part in the 24hr rolling news cycle. Musk has built a cult of devoted fans that claim he can do no wrong and who believe him humanity's saviour. But will these mass public redundancies, delivered with such callous unprofessionalism, break the spell? Not with his cult, but conversations around Musk are increasingly feeling more serious and grown-up, and as this scrutiny builds, we might start to see chinks in his once impervious reputational suit of armour.