Burson-Marsteller Announces a Worldwide Agreement to Represent Death

Burson-Marsteller Inks Deal with Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
by RJ Eskow



Drug company Amgen Inc. was recently accused of running a website that misleads cancer patients and makes scientifically unsubstantiated claims. The site's toll-free number, which offers patient testimonials, is actually run by a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller.

In a press release earlier today, Burson-Marsteller announced a worldwide agreement to represent Death. This completes the PR and lobbying giant's successful campaign to represent all Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Pestilence and Famine signed with the firm earlier this year, and War is a longtime client. Death, the remaining holdout, signed a deal this week. "We represented Blackwater after its wave of civilian shootings," a firm spokesman said, "and of course we recently signed with the maker of Aqua Dots, the child's toy that turns into a date rape drug and temporarily left two children in a non-responsive coma. But this," the spokesman added, "this is the Big One."



The spokesman added that the firm was equally proud of all its clients, and said it will continue to seek similar contracts in the future. He cited recent reports that the firm - and subsidiary Penn, Schoen and Berland - had also signed with Benazir Bhutto's party, despite charges of rampant corruption and the fact that Ms. Bhutto's niece suspects she had something to do with the death of her father, Ms. Bhutto's brother. "Our new accounts are merely the latest examples of the typical Burson client," the spokesman explained, "whether it's the Nigerian military junta after the Biafran war, the Indonesian government after the slaughter of 200,000 East Timorese, the Argentine dictator who 'disappeared' 35,000 of his own people, or anti-environmental groups that support the destruction of the planet itself."



The spokesman expressed indifference about the bad publicity the firm is bringing to its most prominent client, Sen. Hillary Clinton. When asked whether Mark Penn should step down from his dual role as key Clinton advisor and Burson-Marsteller CEO, the spokesman scoffed. "For who, the voters?" he said. "Where else are they gonna go - to Rudy? We're signing him next."

More here:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/11241

Any professional would jump at the chance for this portfolio....

"Death is Nature's way of telling you to slow down."

Monsanto and Burson-Marsteller Hire a Consumer Organizer

Executives at the Burson-Marsteller PR firm are saying as little as possible about their pro-biotech PR campaign for the Monsanto company. Jerry Morrison, a longtime consumer and labor organizer who now runs a firm called the Strategic Consulting Group, says he didn't even know Monsanto was the end client when B-M hired him in early November to pitch local groups about the merits of genetically modified foods.

Morrison has especially close ties with Citizen Action of Illinois, the state's leading consumer organization. In 1998, he ran the successful U.S. congressional campaign of Jan Schakowsky, a member of the Citizen Action board of directors who is well-known as a Chicago consumer advocate. Morrison's business partner, Bob Creamer, is Schakowsky's husband and was Citizen Action's executive director prior to resigning last year under a cloud related to his handling of the organization's finances.

Morrison was hired in conjunction with public hearings that the Food and Drug Administration has scheduled as part of its "Biotechnology in the Year 2000 and Beyond" program. In Chicago, a hearing was held on Nov. 18, with some environmentalists complaining that they received very little advance time to register. The FDA initially booked a room with seating of only 100, and some people say when they called they were told the roster was already full. After the number of people wanting to speak surpassed 500, FDA moved the hearing to a larger venue.

More here:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/monsatan.html

"Sleep is lovely, death is better still, not to have been born is of course the miracle."

But for Plague and Famine just don't get the press the other two do. I just don't think that B-M is doing its job for them.

Frictions like this have torn good bands apart before.

...Hill and Knowlton?
Must have switched agencies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_%26_Knowlton

are part of the same worldwide PR conglomerate ... WPP

http://www.wpp.com/WPP/Companies/ (click companies for list)

I know, it's a small world when it comes to represnting death.


WPP's Board of Directors

Philip Lader
Non-Executive chairman

Philip Lader was appointed chairman in 2001. The US Ambassador to the Court of St. James' from 1997 to 2001, he previously served as a Member of the President's Cabinet and as White House Deputy Chief of Staff. A lawyer, he is also a Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley, a director of RAND, Marathon Oil and EAS Corporations, a member of the Council of Lloyd's (Insurance Market), a trustee of the British Museum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sir Martin Sorrell
Chief executive

Sir Martin Sorrell joined WPP in 1985 as a director, becoming Group chief executive in 1986.

Paul Richardson
Finance director

Paul Richardson became Group finance director in 1996 after four years as director of treasury. He is responsible for the Group's worldwide functions in finance, information technology, procurement and property. Previously with the central finance team of Hanson PLC, he is a non-executive director of Chime Communications PLC and STW Communications Group Limited in Australia.

Mark Read
Strategy director

Mark Read was appointed a director in March 2005. He has been WPP's director of strategy since 2002. He worked at WPP between 1989 and 1995 in both parent company and operating company roles. Prior to rejoining WPP in 2002, he was a principal at Booz-Allen & Hamilton and founded and developed the company WebRewards in the UK.

Colin Day
Non-Executive director

Appointed a Non-Executive Director in July 2005. He is Group Finance Director of Reckitt Benckiser plc, having been appointed to its Board in September 2000. Prior to joining Reckitt Benckiser he as Group Finance Director of Aegis Group plc and previously held a number of senior finance positions with ABB Group plc and De La Rue Group plc. He is a Non-Executive Director of WPP Group plc and until 30 September 2005 of easyjet PLC.

Esther Dyson
Non-Executive director

Esther Dyson was appointed a director in 1999. An acknowledged luminary in the online/information technology industry and the emerging information technology markets of Central and Eastern Europe, she is editor of Release 1.0, hosts the annual PC Forum conference and as an angel investor recently participated in the sale of Flickr to Yahoo!. She sits on the boards of other IT start-ups including EVDB, Meetup.com, NewspaperDirect (Canada), CV-Online (Hungary) and Yandex (Russia).

Orit Gadiesh
Non-Executive director

Orit Gadiesh was appointed a director in April 2004. She is chairman of Bain & Company, Inc. and a world-renowned expert on management and corporate strategy. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and was a Baker Scholar. She is a board member of the HBS Visiting Committee (Harvard Business School) and Dean's Advisory Board (Kellogg School) in the US and the Haute Ecole Commerciale in France. She sits on the Boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of New England and the Peres Institute for Peace and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

David Komansky
Non-Executive director

Appointed a director in January 2003, David Komansky was chairman of the Board of Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc, until his retirement in 2003. He served as chief executive officer from 1996 to 2002, having begun his career there in 1968. He serves as a director of Black Rock, Inc., is a member of the International Advisory Board of the British American Business Council and serves on the Boards of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, the American Museumof Natural History and the National Academy Foundation.

Christopher Mackenzie
Non-Executive director

Christopher Mackenzie was appointed a director in 2000. He is chief executive of Equilibrium, a London-based financial advisory partnership, and Executive Chairman of Brunswick Capital, Russia's leading investment bank and non-bank financial services group. He is also a board member of ALJ, Saudi Arabia's largest non-government industrial group. Previously he was president and CEO of Trizec Properties and a company officer of GE, heading GE Capital's international business development.

Stanley (Bud) Morten
Non-Executive director

Bud Morten was appointed a director in 1991. A consultant and private investor, he is currently the independent consultant to Citigroup/Smith Barney with responsibility for its independent research requirements. Previously he was the chief operating officer of Punk, Ziegel & Co, a New York investment banking firm. Before that he was the managing director of the equity division of Wertheim Schroder & Co, Inc. in New York. He is a non-executive director of Register.com Inc., a NASDAQ-listed US public company.

Koichiro Naganuma
Non-Executive director

Koichiro Naganuma was appointed a director in February 2004. He is president and group chief operating officer of Asatsu-DK. Having joined ADK in 1981, he began his career with the international arm of the agency, his mandate expanding the total operation of the group. He replaced ADK Chairman Masao Inagaki on the Board. ADK is Japan's third largest advertising and communications company. WPP took a 20% interest in ADK in 1998.

Lubna Olayan
Non-Executive director

As CEO of Olayan Financing Company, Lubna Olayan is responsible for the Olayan Group's business and investments in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. In December 2004, she was elected to the Board of Saudi Hollandi Bank. From 1996 through 2004, she served on the board of Chelsfield, the UK property developer. She is a member of INSEAD's International Council and a trustee of the Arab Thought Foundation. She is also a member on the Arab Business Council and the Women's Leadership Initiative of the World Economic Forum.

John Quelch
Non-Executive director

Appointed a director in 1988, Jon Quelch is Senior Associate Dean and Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Formerly Dean of the London Business School, he is an expert in global business practice in emerging and developed markets and international marketing, non-executive director of Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc., Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and chairman of the Massachusetts Port Authority. He has served on the boards of Blue Circle Industries plc, easyJet plc, Pentland Group plc and Reebok International Limited. John Quelch presents how-to marketing advice on the ever-changing world of marketing, in his blog Marketing KnowHow.

Jeffrey Rosen
Non-Executive director

Jeffrey Rosen was appointed a director in December 2004. He is a deputy chairman and managing director of Lazard LLC. Previously, he was a managing director of Wasserstein Perella & Co., Inc. since its inception in 1988, and chairman of Wasserstein Perella International. He has over 30 years' experience in international investment banking and corporate finance. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is president of the Board of Trustees of the International Center of Photography in New York.

Timothy Shriver
Non-Executive director

Appointed a director in August 2007, Mr Shriver is Chairman of Special Olympics, a global organisation founded in 1968 by his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, which provides sports training and athletic competition for people with intellectual disabilities. He is also a distinguished educator, social champion and a successful Hollywood film and television producer. He currently serves on the Board of the Education Commission of the United States Compact for Learning and Citizenship, chairs the Board of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a regular participant in the World Economic Forum.

Paul Spencer
Non-Executive director

Appointed a director in April 2004, Paul Spencer brings 20 years' experience in the financial management of blue chip companies including British Leyland PLC, Rolls-Royce PLC, Hanson PLC and Royal & Sun Alliance PLC, for which he served as UK chief executive between 1999 and 2002. He is the non-executive chairman of State Street Managed Pension Funds and Goshawk Insurance Group PLC, chairman of the Association of Corporate Treasurers' Advisory Board and of NS&I (National Savings). He is also on the boards of Nipponkoa Insurance Europe Ltd, Sovereign Reversions Group plc and Britannic Group plc, and is a governor of Motability, a UK charity for the disabled.

http://www.wpp.com/WPP/About/WhoWeAre/Leadership.htm

some interesting associations here ... the Council on Foreign Relations seems to be a strong common denominator

Philip Lader was US Ambassador to the UK, 1997-2001, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (1993-94)
US Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management (-1993) (Clinton Admin)
Council on Foreign Relations; Rand Corporation (recent thread of Rand possibly influencing Jane Harman's HR 1955 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x71635); Pilgrims Society
http://www.nndb.com/people/784/000118430/
The Pilgrims Society http://www.nndb.com/org/207/000134802/


Trizec Properties connection hooks up with Brian Mulroney, a Council on Foreign Relations trustee, who now is a Board member of The Blackstone Group (The Carlyle Group's cousin in private equity investments), and is a Poppy Bu$h Trustee; and, Trizec includes Peter Munk of Barrick's Gold (see Poppy)
http://www.nndb.com/company/641/000059464/.
http://www.nndb.com/people/074/000024002/
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/07/09_gold.html (Poppy Strikes Gold by Palast)

Of course, Bill Clinton's DC insider friend Vernon Jordan hangs out with Munk at Barrick Gold and at Lazard which is represented on WPP's Board by Jeffrey Rosen.
http://www.nndb.com/people/862/000023793/

ABB Group see: Oil & Gas Companies Operating in Iran
http://tinyurl.com/2z5nlw
Or, give your recipients confidence with a preview TinyURL:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2z5nlw


Bain and Co. = Mitt Romney
http://www.nndb.com/company/862/000124490/

It's such a small world afterall, and the corporatists, regardless of who they play on TV, are on the same page.

There are PR firms who refuse to work for some companies or organizations. Those PR firms aren't very well known by the public at large, and you won't find them in Wikipedia either:)

Burson-Marsteller... haha... BM... I'd have picked a different name.

track the PR Firms and their various corruptions.

http://www.prwatch.org/