The Fame Formula

And so Michael Jackson is to be put to rest – or his physical form is at least. There is no doubt that his name, his brand and his image will live on for as long as it makes money. Death is merely a chapter break in the life of Michael Jackson – it’s not a full stop...

The media post mortem following Michael Jackson’s death, which shows no signs of abating, has unearthed some astounding observations...

I have asked my old mate Roger Edwards, who used to be marketing director of Wembley Stadium, to provide me with his own reminiscences on the Michael Jackson circus from the time he worked at Wembley...

Using shock tactics at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is less likely to garner publicity in this desensitised media age, argues PR guru Mark Borkowski The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is nearly upon us...

Andy Murray prepares for a practice session surrounded by his team of coaches. Long tipped as a possible Wimbledon champion, it is not only Andy Murray’s game that has vastly improved...

I was on the Today programme at 8.40 this morning, with Phil Hall from PHA Media, discussing Simon Lewis’s new role as director of communications for Gordon Brown and how he might turn Brown’s premiership around...

I gave an interview for Austrian radio last week on the nature of fame in the 21st Century. The podcast is available now but I am posting up the extract of my interview on this site. Click here to listen to my comments on Fame on Austrian Radio or, to hear the full podcast, click here.

Could the tabloid-friendly sight of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paris Hilton in a Los Angeles nightclub the night before the footballer’s Real Madrid deal was confirmed be a coincidence...

ROBERT Burns has become the first real person to feature on a Coca-Cola bottle. The special edition reproduces the image of Scotland’s national poet between the antlers of a stag to mark Homecoming Scotland 2009, in a colourful red, white and gold tribute...

There’s not that much of a gap between Phineas Taylor Barnum, grandmaster of the freak show, and Simon Cowell. Both Barnum and Cowell are exemplars of transmuting showbiz into mega-biz gold...

A film, by Aaron Stone, featuring Mark Borkowski instructing a couple of wannabe celebrities on the perils of fame.

An article in today’s Independent on brand name changes, comebacks and stunts, mentioning the Borkowski Wispa campaign and quoting me from a blog, originally published here. “We should really have learned from the past...

I’m still recovering from a sold out Hay Festival appearance and the blazing sun. I’d forgotten how wonderful the Festival can be when the weather’s good...

What do ex-pop star Dane Bowers and the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, have in common? They’re both publicity predators, prowling at the fringes of big news and ready to leap in and attach their teeth into the rump of a story that will get them attention...

Neal’s Yard have committed a grave PR error by backing out of the Guardian’s You Ask They Answer debate on homeopathic treatments and going into hiding. Twitter has been in a twirl about it all morning...

We asked a panel of experts how they would solve Parliament’s problems If you were to pick out one MP’s claim as highlighting the worst excess, which would it be and why? Sir Peter Viggers and his duck house. It’s not the amount of money that causes concern, but the underlying cast of mind...

Day fifteen of the Telegraph’s ongoing revelations about MP’s expenses rumbles into view with no end in sight and I’ve just recorded a piece for the Trevor Macdonald show on the affair – another in a long list of opinions given to the media...

The scandal surrounding MPs expenses has angered the voting public. So how can confidence in Parliament be restored? Here, we asked advertising gurus, branding experts and cool-headed commentators for tips on how MPs can pick up the pieces...

The frenzy of moviedom and publicity that is the Cannes Film Festival is upon us again. Publicity stunts play an enormous part in the festival, however much the BBC’s Victoria Lindrea may protest that this year “really is all about the films“...

I was asked by the Guardian to comment on the new trend in contrite adverts, from the Marks & Sparks ‘We Boobed’ campaign to the Evening Standard’s resetting of standards adverts...

I was asked to comment in a dissection of the Susan Boyle phenomenon by Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post a couple of weeks ago - here’s the vide

Here is the webcast of the head to head between Max Clifford and myself at the London College of Communications last Tuesday, in nine handy bite-sized chunks...

Global media flocked to the island Some stories are as much about public relations as they are news. This week marked the culmination of one of the greatest examples, which has left the PR industry gasping in admiration, says Ian Hall...

You couldn’t move anywhere this morning without hearing something about Ben Southall, the British winner of ‘The Best Job in the World’ and the string of idyllic desert islands along the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, which will act as his home and office for six...

I will be going head to head with Max Clifford to discuss the toxic nature of celebrity at the London College of Communication tonight and, if you don’t have a ticket – they sold out quickly – you’ll be glad to know you haven’t missed out...

I enjoyed the launch of the Fame Formula paperback at the Riverside Studios at Hammersmith on Wednesday night for many reasons: it’s a great venue, the people who came were interested and interesting, it was good to expound on the brilliance of publicist extraordinaire Russell Birdwell to an...

Whilst I have no wish to denigrate the sense of loss the families of the 150 or so people who have died in Mexico must be feeling, I suspect that the reporting of the supposed Swine Flu pandemic is more hysterical by far than it needs to be and may in fact cause more problems than it solves...

Jade Goody’s not cold in her grave and already a “controversial” artist is leeching off her celebrity to generate some quick and dirty PR. News broke in the Hackney Gazette last week that performance artist Mark McGowan is organising a re-enactment of the final hours of Jade Goody’s life...

A week has passed and it amazes me that there has been as much surprise at – and media condemnation of – Damien McBride’s attempts to slur the opposition as there has been. Surely this sort of thing, in one form or another has been going on for years...

“Britney’s feed is sanitised, tedious vainglory, merely a bland sales pitch” By Mark Borkowski - Monday 13th April Cynical: Britney’s Twitter feed is merely putting out a bland sales pitch, with the sort of information that can be gleaned from anywhere I’m waiting for the first big...

I appeared on BBC Breakfast TV on Monday talking about the Fame Formula

My first Guardian piece thanks to followers on Twitter. People have genuinely and generously given me their thoughts on the worst rebranding they could think of which enabled me to write this piece. Thank you all of you. Ahh the power of Twitter. Consignia? Monday? Choco Krispies...