Fineman PR releases 15th annual Top 10 PR Blunders List

December 14, 2009

For the fifteenth year in a row, Fineman PR in San Francisco has released its Top 10 PR Blunders List. The top five include:

1. On April 27, an Air Force One airplane flew at a low altitude over Manhattan, seemingly pursued by an F-16 jet. The airplane was attempting to capture a photograph of Air Force One above the Statue of Liberty, but instead terrified employees working near Ground Zero, who fled from office buildings since White House Military Director Louis Caldera had not informed the city or Mayor Bloomberg of the event. Caldera resigned.
2. First-grader Zachary Christie, who had recently started Cub Scouts, brought a camping utensil to school to eat with at lunch. After the administration saw him with it, they confiscated it, suspended him and sentenced him to 45 days in reform school. After protests, meetings and national media attention, the boy was allowed to return to school.
3. After Goldman Sachs was publicly chastised in the media for giving its employees such large year-end bonuses, CEO and spokesperson Lloyd Blankfein told UK’s Sunday Times that the company was “doing God’s work.” Many outlets blasted the comment including Financial Post editor-at-large Diane Francis who blogged “Goldman Sucks” in response and ridiculed its new small business support plan.
4. United Airlines refused to compensate musician Dave Carroll after he watched baggage handlers throw his guitar during a transfer at O’Hare Airport. After nine months, the airline refused to compensate him for the $1,200 repairs on the instrument so Carroll posted a video about the incident on YouTube. The video went viral and amassed over three million views in one week. Shortly after, the airline called to award him compensation, which he donated to charity.
5. Domino’s did not move quickly enough when some of its employees posted YouTube videos of themselves performing unsanitary actions with food. The videos garnered more than one million views within 48 hours. After two days, Domino’s reacted and launched a Twitter account as well as posted an apology video from its CEO on YouTube.

Also on the list: Kanye West snubs Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kentucky Fried Chicken rescinds its offer of a free meal, Target’s “Illegal Alien” costume draws the attention of human rights and immigration activists, a Wells Fargo executive uses a foreclosed $12 million Malibu house for ‘’eye-catching parties” and landlord Horizon Group Management sues a Chicago renter for online defamation because of a post on her Twitter account.
 

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