A celebrity PR caused a stir this afternoon after hitting CC rather than blind CC on an email offering the opportunity to interview Apprentice semi-finalist (aka loser) James Max.
According to Hawar Shawki from PHA Media, Max is apparently very versatile and able to ‘comment on a gadget, technology, style & grooming, fashion or travel related issue/story. He is also an expert on business, finance and property and comments regularly on these subjects in national newspapers and magazines”.
The circulation list was therefore indiscriminate with someone from just about every TV, newspaper and magazine you can think of included on a seemingly endless list of email recipients – ranging from Hannah Fernando at Heat magazine to Celia Walden at the Daily Telegraph.
Fernando was one of those who clicked ‘reply to all’ sending the message ‘Do we all need to be cc’d in?’perhaps trying to generate some email debate of the kind that always ends in frustrated tears and full in-boxes.
Graham Lorimer at Shout magazine let Shawki was surprisingly generous in his reply: ‘Unfortunately, this isn’t something I could use in Shout but if you’ve got anything else our readership of teenage girls would be interested in – particularly competitions related – I’d be delighted to here from you.”
John Marrs at Burda Magazines was also delighted, replying cheerfully to everyone: ‘Well my contacts book is now bulging, so thanks.”
For commissioning editor Megan Welford from Woman some Blitz spirit was setting in amid the email deluge. She tapped: ‘I’m quite enjoying it! Shall we form a facebook group? Go for a drink?”
I’ll let the final word go to Susan Swarbrick, from The Herald, who suggests that the PR behind all this might not be as hapless as they might at first appear…
‘James Max: currently the most emailed about topic in British journalism. Does he have a Twitter page?”
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