One of the most famous and certainly most quoted PR blunders belongs to Gerald Ratner and his now legendary quip that his retail stores’ cut-glass sherry decanters were ‘total crap’. The cost of the decanters then was £4.95. The cost to his business was devastating. His explanation that the remarks were made at a private function and were not meant to be taken seriously were ignored all round. There is no such thing as ‘off the record’ or even ‘it was a joke’ and the impact on the firm’s brand was disastrous. So what of the long-term impact of remarks made by e-on’s head of emissions, Mark Owen-Lloyd, who when asked at a seminar hosted by Ofgem what would happen to oil and gas prices in a cold winter, replied: “make more money for us”. Radio 4 pm programme debated whether the British were having a collective sense of humour failure or was this an example of corporate greed insulated against the reality of increasing fuel poverty? The power firm’s press office will no doubt have had a busy few days providing a more suitable response to the question. Back to Gerald, and he is proving there is some resilience in the brand after all and that perhaps, in the longer term, that it is better to be talked about than not talked about, so a plug is due to his online jewellery store www.crapdecanters.com. If only. It is of course www.geraldonline.com
