Where to begin? This whole thing was such a train-wreck that it’s hard to tell the wheels from the rails … OK, let’s set aside the “who’s-zooming-who” salacious details surrounding now ex-Toronto mayoral candidate Adam Giambrone’s fall from grace and look purely at the communications aspect (as we do as a matter of course here at TD&F). We can only assume that the sequence of events was something like this: girlfriend Kristen Lucas goes to the Toronto Star with the story of her clandestine relationship with Giambrone, supplying text message transcripts, posing for photos, and talking openly about certain activities taking place on the councilor’s office sofa. The Star puts story together, then calls Giambrone, informing him of plans to publish, and offering the opportunity to comment. What to do, what to do …? When confronted with a messy issue that is about to get page one treatment in the media, the cardinal rule is simple: complete and utter full disclosure – no matter how painful – and for good reason, as witnessed by the out-of-control spiral into which Giambrone fell. Day One, he gave the Star a statement which quickly unraveled, i.e. “inappropriate contact” with “one woman” which took the sole forms of text messages and face-to-face encounters only at public events. Lucas’ claims and text message corroboration shredded that, as did the before-11-PM identification of yet another woman by Global TV. Day Two, there’s Giambrone, with another front-page exclusive statement to the Star, essentially admitting that 24 hours ago he was outright lying to them in an attempt to control the damage. If you’re in a crisis situation and there is more bad news lurking out there that hasn’t come out yet (but probably will), lance that boil yourself. Have one really, really bad day and you might be able to survive to fight on. Have one really, really bad day after another and you’re toast. Backing up a step, the text-messaging revelation that Giambrone’s so-called partnership with Sarah McQuarrie was purely “political” and for the purpose of the “campaign” only further showed that his carefully constructed domestic home life image was nothing more than that: a backdrop. In any communications effort, credibility is absolutely everything – and that’s never more true than in the realm of politics. But regardless of whether you’re running for higher office or simply trying to reach a targeted audience with a message, if you self-immolate your own credibility, well, you got nothin’. Just ask Adam Giambrone.

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This call is a first here at TD&F, but it’s a pre-emptive warning from this official to those politicians assembling on the field of dreamy-good Olympic media coverage. From Stephen Harper and his federal colleagues to the lowliest of Vancouver city councilors, getting their mugs on camera amid the Olympic fervour now taking hold is the crack cocaine of photo-ops. The temptation for politicos to horn in on magical sporting moments can be irresistible – just ask Otto Jelinek, who was the federal Minister of Sport during our last Olympic hosting turn in Calgary, 1988. You couldn’t swing a zoom lens without hitting the guy (and he wasn’t the only one), and it rubbed people the wrong way. Of course there is a place for elected officials at this international celebration of sport – but it’s a limited one, and smart politicians will govern themselves, accordingly.

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Man, for a guy who’s apparently really worried about coming off as a “DB” he really talks a lot about being worried about being a “DB” and you can’t help but thinking about him being a “DB” by the end of it. That’s my thumbnail take on the lengthy interview by John Mayer in the current issue of Playboy. I read it online, no pictures. Honest. But speaking of pictures, Mayer goes on at length in the interview about how he really likes his porn, as well as solo activities often related thereto, and, if that wasn’t enough, equates his private part to that of “a white supremacist” or “David Duke.” On this note, he’s taking a lot of heat right now (in ripple-effect media coverage about this very interview) for dropping the N-word, but in the context of the full statement, I can see how he wasn’t using it to be offensive. But what Mayer clearly doesn’t get is that you can never use a word like that an expect it to be heard in any other way. And yes, he talks a lot (I mean, a LOT) about Jennifer Aniston (most of which is rather tender, I thought) and also Jessica Simpson (much more carnally - “Yeah, that girl is like crack cocaine to me.”) It’s frank, it’s candid, and it’s an interview that left me wondering what the hell he was trying to accomplish. And because I can’t figure that out (unless it’s a pure publicity stunt aimed at selling records with zero regard for his personal brand), it tells me that Mayer had no strategic plan going in. He just talked and talked and talked about whatever was on his mind. At one point, most tellingly, he tells the reporter “you can print that” – apparently not understanding that he can – and did – actually print ALL of it. Maybe he was telling the honest truth when he said “in 2010 my goal is to get more mentions in US Weekly than ever.” Heavier Things indeed..

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Sarah Palin, 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate and potential contender for the top spot in 2012 was caught red-handed (actually it was black ink, but let’s not quibble) at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville last week. During her speech, Palin took President Obama to task about his reliance on a teleprompter during his recent State of the Union Address: “This is about the people…and it’s a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter,” said Palin. There are those who might think it a stretch for Sarah Palin to be critiquing Barack Obama’s oratorical skills. But even those who favour Palin’s folksy “Aw shucks” style will have cringed when the camera picked up crib notes scribbled on the palm of her left hand: “Energy:”, “ Tax”, “Lift American Spirits” and “Budget Cuts” with the word “Budget” crossed out. There are two lessons here: First, know your key messages cold, then rehearse, rehearse and rehearse them yet again. Second, don’t be slagging the other guy’s communication technique when your own won’t withstand much scrutiny.

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Ford Motor Company has come a long way down the road from the days when car afficionados joked that FORD stood for Fix Or Repair Daily. From having weathered the recession far better than either GM or Chrysler, to recent wins in consumer satisfaction and quality surveys, Ford has been on a roll. Small wonder that Ford wants to tout its improved quality ratings in its advertising campaigns. "Ford quality is equal to Toyota" goes the claim in its current Ford Drive One TV commercial. With Toyota having long been a byword for reliability, the ad would have seemed right on message when the copy was hot off the printer at Ford’s Ad agency. The early reviews praised Ford's savvy for targeting Toyota's market at a time when the high Yen has made its cars less competitive in North America. What Ford hadn't counted on was Toyota’s massive global recall, sales halt on eight models and the highly-publicized apology for quality failures made by Toyota's President Akio Toyoda. The lesson here is that it's all very well to compare yourself to the industry leader but you'd better stay on top of the news currents or you run the risk of being run off course.

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Orli Giroux Namian was a senior communications manager at BMO Financial Group and Deputy Press Secretary to a former Prime Minister. She is now an account director at Veritas.

The debate over file sharing and the United States’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is far from over and Google may have just fanned the flames. Earlier this week, Google deleted six of the most popular music blogs (including all archived information) on its popular blogging site Blogger.com. Music blogs have been instrumental (pun intended) in the spread and rise in popularity of independent music over the past few years. Although it remains unconfirmed, blog owners have insisted they were not hosting any copyrighted material, nor were they issued any notices to remove their content as would be customary in an infringement situation. Google has defended their actions saying, “When we receive multiple DMCA complaints about the same blog, and have no indication that the offending content is being used in an authorized manner, we will remove the blog.” Pushback was instant, spreading on Twitter through the use of the popularized hashtag #musicblogocide2k10. Without weighing into issues of copyright, we’re calling this a Fumble. Failing to communicate with blog owners and the wider blogging community created fertile grounds for complaints. Normally more savvy of the online space, Google would have benefited from posting its rationale prior to deleting the blogs, not after.

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Bryan Feheley is a social media account coordinator at com.motion.