Opinion

WS is unwise to plug youth in its ranks

So the new Weber Shandwick is just five years young (advert in PRWeek, 6 October) and beneath this slogan are pictured five attractive people (all over five, but perhaps not yet 30) with incredibly impressive titles and saying incredibly enthusiastic things; presumably to back up the claim to be brimming with 'creative talent, experience and expertise'.

/ November 03, 2006

Good luck to them. But as I am now beyond the big five-O, and have laboured in journalism and PR since the 1970s, I find myself smiling rather wryly. OK, so I guess 'experience' is a relative concept. But to launch such an ad in sync with new anti-ageist legislation is a feat of exquisite timing, if not PR savvy.

According to Mintel, 50 to 69-year-olds now account for a third of consumer spending in the UK, some £300bn. But I guess the UK's leading PR consultancy won't be chasing any accounts based on the spending power of the silver pound?

Bill Baker, PR and Marketing Consultant, UKIP Media & Events

Feature, p24.