BISHOFF SOLOMON COMMUNICATIONS, BOSTON
BISHOFF SOLOMON COMMUNICATIONS, BOSTON
Testifying at a Congressional hearing in 1996, Kathie Lee Gifford
pledged to help end labor abuses in the apparel industry, and proclaimed
that ’Every one of us, from the entertainer who lends her name to the
consumer in the store, has an obligation to know how and why a garment
was made.’ Similar charges resurfaced last month, raising the question
of whether Kathie Lee has lived up to her end of the bargain. She
hasn’t. Her protestations to the contrary, the perception is that Kathie
Lee has thrown words at the deplorable conditions under which factory
workers toil, but done nothing to change them. Kathie Lee’s credibility
is at stake and if she doesn’t take decisive action soon, these
allegations will continue to haunt her.
In response to the latest round of charges, Kathie Lee has said that she
would give up her clothing line if the profits weren’t used to fund
programs that assist children with AIDS. She may have to do just that
and find another way to help children, if she wants to silence the
critics once and for all.
PHILIP NARDONE, PAN COMMUNICATIONS, ANDOVER, MA
Kathie Lee Gifford initially responded to the attacks ineffectively.
She cried on national TV, saying that she didn’t know about Wal-Mart’s
sweatshop connections - which was the truth. This was not, however, what
the public, the pundits and activists wanted to hear; most people
assumed that a celebrity spokesperson would have some idea as to what
she was endorsing. Kathie Lee quickly corrected this misstep, retaining
a PR agency (Rubenstein Associates) that certainly knows a thing or two
about crisis communications. Rubenstein set Kathie Lee straight with a
solid crisis strategy. Seemingly overnight, she became an advocate for
anti-child-labor causes. At one point, she even had a photo op with Bill
Clinton in the White House Rose Garden to celebrate her involvement in
these causes.
What’s interesting is that Gifford could have let the issue die after
the initial attacks. But instead - and no doubt following the advice of
Rubenstein - she took control and dictated how her name would be written
into history on the issue of sweatshops. This was a well-orchestrated PR
job
