Positive news is the new fake news, and brands need to take advantage
From asteroids to nuclear war, Earth can at times seem a dire place to live. In response, the thirst for positive news is one brands need to take advantage of, argues Ogilvy PR CEO Richard Brett.
If news is the first draft of history, what will it tell us about the last few years?
There’s the threat of climate change, tension in the Middle East and potential nuclear war on the Korean peninsula. We’re surrounded by populism, terrorism and unbridled capitalism. Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein and Brexit are casting long shadows. As of last month, there’s even a chance we’ll be hit by an asteroid.
Asteroid Bennu could collide with Earth in 2135
Wonderful article*, Richard – so important to remember how brands can be champions of good in so many ways. We need to see and feel more of it, to counter the barrage of negativity that comes from the media (including social media).
*Fortunatelty, the last two thirds redeemed the irony of the first, where your derision of the Trump and Brexit phenomena showed no real understanding of the situations, and reference to Stephen “I’m a comedian, so I’m totally not delivering fake news political propaganda” Colbert made that even more obvious. I have little concern for the fake news of clickbaity blog sites, but we should all have concerns about the mainstream media’s propagandising, which is becoming increasingly more blatant. If you hadn’t noticed, the ‘threat of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula’ is nearly a thing of the past, courtesy of the ‘dangerous tweets from The Donald’ that you mock only sentences later. Then you talk about how the economy in the US has grown so much since 1992, but miss that it’s smashed all targets since Trump took office (actual CNN headline: ‘Trump thinks he can get 3% growth next quarter – here’s why he’s dreaming’. Actual result exceeded 3% and has done every quarter since).
Perhaps you could be the change you want to see in the world? Take a moment to understand who is the real fake news, and not be so negative by casting aspersions on others whose political positions differ from your own, before leading the charge for brands to be more positive?