Tonight is the night; the evening of PRWeek’s annual Hall of Fame gala, held to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the profession of PR. Friends, family and colleagues of the honorees, as well as others will experience one of the most wonderful nights on the PR calendar. This year’s Hall of Fame honorees are: Martha Boudreau, EVP & chief communications & marketing officer, AARP; Tony Cervone, SVP, global communications, General Motors; Richard Edelman, president & CEO, Edelman; Aedhmar Hynes, chair, Page; Michelle Moore, CCO, American Civil Liberties Union; Andy Polansky, chairman & CEO, Constituency Management Group; executive chairman, Weber Shandwick.
The woman in the Peleton holiday commercial that was critiqued as creepy, sexist, and classist has spoken out. In a statement actress Monica Ruiz said "I was happy to accept a job opportunity earlier this year from Peloton and the team was lovely to work with," she wrote. "Although I’m an actress, I am not quite comfortable being in [the] spotlight and I’m terrible on social media. So to say I was shocked and overwhelmed by the attention this week (especially the negative) is an understatement." Ruiz has since appeared in another viral ad — one that mocks the Peloton ad — this time for Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin. (NBC)
We are already planning for next year's Agency Business Report. Tell us why your agency should be profiled. And are there any features or elements you want to see in the report? Email: juliann.nelson@haymarketmedia.com. Here is our ABR 2019, if you missed it.
PRWeek's Steve Barrett's recent blog discussed Procter & Gamble chief brand officer Marc Pritchard's work at the CPG giant. Lessons from the world's largest marketer include addressing disruption by disrupting and moving from mass blasting to more precise one-on-one outreach.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime minister Abiy Ahmed, refuses to talk to the press at ceremonies surrounding the honor. Ahmed was a controversial choice, the Washington Post reports. While he helped create a peace deal with neighboring country Eritrea, more people in Ethiopia have been displaced from their homes in his first year in office than in any other country. Ahmed won’t even answer questions from children at a Save the Children event. Embarrassed Nobel officials are attempting to change his mind. "There are no parallel situations, as far as I know," said Henrik Urdal, research director at the Peace Research Institute. "It is understandable that Abiy is a busy head of state, and that he might not be able to participate in every event, but to decline all of them —a busy schedule of course cannot be the only explanation."
