« We Are Gaining Market Share | Main | Taking the Show on the Road »
March 16, 2007
Death of a Spokesperson
I noted the passing of Marjabelle Y. Stewart last week. Described in the NY Times obituary as “the Queen of Couth,” Ms. Stewart presided over a “vast, genteel empire of books and classes on etiquette.” In fact, her pupils included the daughters of Presidents Johnson and Nixon, who attended her Washington, D.C. charm school “where she taught the children of the powerful how to bow, curtsey and tenderly ladle punch.” And now it can be revealed that Ms. Stewart struck out in her attempt to reform the three ruffians at the Edelman family dinner table in the late 1960s.
I am not sure that you can exactly grasp the full impact of a family business, particularly a PR business, until you realize that my siblings and I had dinner with the complete array of client spokespeople, from the sublime to the ridiculous, from Ernie Banks the baseball star to Orville Redenbacher the popcorn king to Phyllis George, recently crowned Miss America (and future wife of the owner of KFC, John Y. Brown, where she reappeared in our lives). My dad was the “father of the media tour,” so these luminaries were sent out on behalf of products, hoping to include a subtle brand mention in the course of their print and broadcast interviews. In fact, once on the Johnny Carson Show, our spokesman dropped a Wakefield Crab into the lap of the aforementioned host; while the crustacean scuttled away, Carson quipped that he had crabs.
How did Marjabelle come into our lives? Edelman was representing Ore-Ida Potatoes, a new easy to prepare side dish concept from HJ Heinz. Ms. Stewart had been quoted as saying that French fries could be a diner’s Waterloo; she generally suggested cutting them into bite-sized pieces. But with Ore-Ida, it was “all righta” to pick them up. So off Ms. Stewart went on tour, giving talk show hosts personal instruction on best ways to consume while maintaining propriety. My father mentioned Ms. Stewart one night at a family dinner, giving my mother the opportunity to train her little darlings for the big world that lay ahead of them.
Marjabelle did not disappoint. She flounced into the room, full of Midwestern charm, a big head of hair, heavily made up and ready to please. My mother had prepared the ideal meal designed to trap even the most fastidious, mannerly child, from green peas to corn on the cob to spareribs. The children were seated in the middle, with Marjabelle on one end, my mother on the other. As one eating horror after another was visited upon my outraged mother (my favorite—pushing the peas onto my fork with my knife—practical as always), Marjabelle maintained her calm, praising our efforts. Dinner concluded with Marjabelle opining that my parents had done a wonderful job of teaching us manners. As soon as she was out the door, my mother, hopping mad, said that would be the last spokesperson who dined at our home. The lesson for me—always be sure that the spokesperson understands the message! My condolences to Ms. Stewart’s family—she was one of a kind!
Posted by Edelman at March 16, 2007 9:29 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.edelman.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/363
Comments
Good Morning Mr. Edelman,
I have enjoyed your blog for a long time and have never commented before. Besides your humorous anecdotes (ex. above), you always seem to have great insight.
So I thought that I would pose a question. We are always looking to expand our knowledge of Internet services for our clients. I was wondering if you knew of any online services that tracked past media coverage. I am trying to find something that is less expensive than traditional clipping services. Are there any companies that you trust in this regard? Thank you for any recommendations.
I look forward to your next post.
Respectfully,
Bill
Posted by: Bill Flavell at March 19, 2007 10:10 AM
I am enjoying your blog.
Recently I saw that you will be speaking in Atlanta next week for the PR Association. I immediately signed up to attend. As a body language expert, I was a national spokesperson for your campaign for Wrigley's Spearmint Gum in 2002. Based on your teams concept, I designed the Chew IQ test that correlated chewing behavior and the DISC personality style. The campaign was enormous fun. I hope to say hello to you at the luncheon next week.
Patti Wood
Posted by: Patti Wood at April 4, 2007 8:15 AM