The Bailout's Missing Ingredient: A Famous Face
Why did the bailout fail to win approval in the House earlier this week? It wasn't marketing properly, naturally. "'Bailout' connotes failure, and Americans hate failure," one veteran publicist tells AdAge. "There is nothing redemptive about a bailout. What if this had been called a 'rescue' from the beginning? Or the 'Save Our Homes Act'?" Oh, also: the administration probably should have recruited a celebrity to pitch it instead of sending George Bush or a haggard Hank Paulson to the podium. Says one strategist: "The first rule of any PR campaign is to find the most credible voices you can to be your message deliverers." Anyone know what Oprah's up to this week?