Posts Tagged ‘David Letterman’

An Affair to Forget: Today, Rebranding Becomes Him (Petraeus, Et Al)

An Affair to Forget: Today, Rebranding Becomes Him (Petraeus, Et Al)

[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Years ago I wanted to write a book, Another Woman: From Cleopatra to Marla, but now that seems to take us only halfway through the evolution of the mistress. After Marla Maples, who secretly dated Donald Trump for two years in the ’80s while he was still married to Ivana (before [...]


When Brands Need a Reboot (Think Lance)

When Brands Need a Reboot (Think Lance)

[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] It used to be that if you were famous and you screwed up, the path to redemption was clear: Hire an old-school, big-name publicist to keep yourself out of the news for a while, then orchestrate a high-profile comeback (think a self-deprecating turn on “Saturday Night Live”) to prove that you’re [...]


NYT Best-Selling Author…Snooki?

NYT Best-Selling Author…Snooki?

Between the launch of her first novel, A Shore Thing, and the premiere of Season Three of MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” it seems that everywhere you turn, you see Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. (Even my uncle saw her out his window the other day, as she and her castmate JWoWW looked into buying the house across the [...]


The Surreal Life (and Other Trends)

The Surreal Life (and Other Trends)

I’ve been spotting trends for almost two decades. Trends are hard to figure and harder to tease out. Doing it right means tracking people, social momentum, brands, economies, companies—all in constant motion. But trends also mean business, especially for people in PR; we’ve got to be in and of the culture if we’re going to [...]


Young Love? Or a Made-for-TV Romance?

Young Love? Or a Made-for-TV Romance?

This week Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston announced that not only are they back together, but they are also (again) engaged to be married. Unlike most couples, Bristol and Levi didn’t relay the exciting news to their families first. Instead, they landed an Us Weekly cover and told the world. The news set off a [...]


What the Future Holds

What the Future Holds

We approach next year having lived through the worst economic meltdown since the crash of the 1930s and are now navigating the waves that this has sent through every aspect of life—social, political, ecological. One phenomenon will weave through all of them: social media. It will be the greatest driver of all trends worldwide next [...]