BBC misses ‘couldn’t buy this kind of coverage’ factor

The BBC's Panorama debacle has been well covered this week, but it seems the BBC is still badly missing the point.

Talking to PR Week, the BBC's head of comms John Shield said: “We are an extremely busy comms operation. So, we are grateful to our professional colleagues at Ryanair for driving publicity for the show.”

Er, ...brilliant.

So it’s a lose-lose? Which makes…. er, a win, somehow for the BBC. Not only did the Beeb give a gleeful Ryanair the kind of coverage it couldn’t buy but even more people witnessed Panorama’s fall from grace than the BBC had initially anticipated.

Way to go John. That’s living alright!

Now the Beeb is at it again this morning with coverage of the ASA’s ban on adverts for Actimel ‘good bacteria’ yoghurt drinks over claims they were particularly good for kids.

The debate is predominantly about ad-speak which you'd have thought most consumers are cynical towards anyway. So the net effect is lots of discussion about Actimel while the nation eats its breakfast, stating the yoghurt certainly isn’t bad for you, and may be good for you, just not in quite the way that was claimed.

Mmmm Danone.