BIMBO Nominees For August 2019

• Bimbo
• August 1, 2019
• by Spaeth Communications
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BIMBOs from a general nominated for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Colorado state representative on the state’s experience with legal pot, the Association of National Advertisers and a past BIMBO that’s become all too relevant from accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Remarkable examples of the sports world illustrating the art of the apology, and Puerto Rico’s governor learned the hard way that what you think are private comments … won’t stay that way. Good stories about the world changing from a new Fort Worth medical school and Miss Virginia’s winning talent choice as well as from two police departments, which actually showed they can use humor to reach the public! Think the media misquotes people? Read about an alleged quote from tennis great Billie Jean King … and what she really said.

THE WINNING BIMBO

“I refuse to believe I give Christians a bad name,” said ABC’s The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown in an Instagram post responding to criticism from viewers. (Brown has frequently spoken about her Christian beliefs on the show and revealed she is now shocked by the amount of hate she’s received in response via social media. Specifically, the backlash began from her conversations with contestant Luke Parker. In one scene, Brown told Parker, “I have had sex and Jesus still loves me.”)

The Hollywood Reporter, “‘Bachelorette’ Star to Critics: ‘I Refuse to Believe I Give Christians a Bad Name,’” June 28, 2019

THE RUNNERS-UP

“I don’t think people have to be personally racist to enable a racist system,” tweeted Saikat Chakrabarti, chief of staff and chief strategist for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He then added, “I don’t believe Sharice is a racist person, but her votes are showing her to enable a racist system.” (We don’t need to add anything to this outburst because other Democrats in Congress tore into Chakrabarti for attacking Rep. Sharice Davids and for disrespectfully calling her by her first name. The controversy was part of the eruption that started when AOC, as she delights to be called, criticized House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi by charging that Pelosi was “singling out” the “newly elected women of color” in Congress. This is an example of how the BIMBO phenomenon works. (Of course, Chakrabarti was calling Davids a racist.)

Fox News, “House Democratic Caucus rips AOC's chief of staff for criticizing lawmaker: ‘Keep her name out of your mouth,’” July 13, 2019

“PopMob is not a militant anti-fascist group,” noted Effie Baum, spokeswoman for the Portland, Oregon, activist group, after a publicized and videoed confrontation surfaced of masked Antifa thugs attacking journalist Andy Ngo at a men’s-rights rally in downtown Portland. (Ngo was physically attacked and ended up in the hospital.) Baum was uncharacteristically honest when she added PopMob “supports a diversity of tactics,” which during this counter protest, included physical assault. She not only didn’t criticize or separate her group from the attack, she endorsed it and blamed Ngo for filming and editing footage of the protests, which she said, “antagonizes leftist activists.” Terrifying, but more terrifying is that the Portland police stood by yet failed to stop the attack.

The Wall Street Journal, “Antifa Attacks a Journalist,” July 1, 2019

“It was not a witch hunt,” insisted Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. (This is a classic BIMBO comment. Mueller was actually responding to a set-up question from House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff who asked,  “And when Donald Trump called your investigation a witch hunt, that was also false, was it not? … Well your investigation is not a witch hunt, is it?” to which (sorry about the pun) Mueller responded, “It was not a witch hunt.” That became the sound bite and the headline. Mueller should have said, “On the contrary, it was a thorough investigation.” Worse, the questioners congratulated themselves on getting the phrase “witch hunt” into the discussion in a mouth other than President Trump’s. They were actually hurting their own cause because all listeners heard was “witch hunt.”)

The Hill, “Mueller says his probe was not a ‘witch hunt’ in first-ever public refute of Trump claim,” July 24, 2019

“I’m not a sexual predator. I’m an ‘offender’ … It’s the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel,” said financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Epstein, who in 2008 pleaded guilty to the “solicitation of prostitution and the procurement of minors for prostitution” and served 13 months in jail, was arrested again, this time for sex trafficking of minors. This comment dates to 2011 in an interview with the New York Post and was widely quoted in connection with Epstein’s recent arrest. This is another example of how a comment will live forever.)

The Atlantic, “When Jeffrey Epstein Joked About Sex Abuse,” July 9, 2019

“We will not be intimidated into making stupid decisions,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. As President Trump’s nominee to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Milley was questioned by Congress about whether he could stand up to an opinionated president. (We prefer his other comments, “Arlington [cemetery] is full of our comrades, and we understand absolutely full well the hazards of our chosen profession.” And, “We will give our best military advice and not keep the consequences to ourselves.” Notice that the negative construction became the headline.)

The Washington Post, “Trump’s nominee for top military job says he won’t be ‘intimidated into making stupid decisions,’” July 11, 2019

“You don’t see drug-addled people roaming the streets, but we haven’t created a utopia,” said Colorado State Rep. Jonathan Singer. (Five years ago, Colorado was the first state to experiment with full legalization of marijuana. Since then, “Colorado’s first-in-the-nation experiment has reshaped health, politics, rural culture and criminal justice in surprising ways that often defy both the worst warnings of critics and blue-sky rhetoric of the marijuana industry.” Dr. Andrew Monte, an emergency and medical toxicology physician and researcher, said it best: “There’s a disconnect between what was proposed as a completely safe drug. Nothing is completely safe.” We hope lots of people hear him.)

The New York Times, “Reefer Madness or Pot Paradise? The Surprising Legacy of the Place Where Legal Weed Began,” June 30, 2019

“Nobody is saying marketing is going away,” said Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers explaining why marketing, or at least the term “marketing,” is going away. (We’re supportive of the concept of understanding that communication stretches across the entire enterprise and is internally and externally facing, whether a company is recruiting the best and brightest or meeting customers’ needs. It is noteworthy that marketing powerhouses like Coca-Cola Co. have eliminated the CMO title and consolidated marketing oversight into a Chief Growth Officer role.)

Ad Age, “Why more brands are ditching the CMO position,” July 15, 2019

WRONG THING TO SAY

“I wish a bomb would explode on this club. A bomb should explode here,” said Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini, who was frustrated about the condition of the grass court after he lost during the third round at Wimbledon. (Fognini was fined almost $3,000 and apologized in Italian. Yahoo translated his comment as, “If somebody feels offended, I say sorry. No problem,” which seemed to us extremely cavalier and insincere. However, Wimbledon Chief Executive Richard Lewis did a nice job rescuing him, saying, “It’s in the heat of the moment. It’s an unfortunate comment, but we readily accept the apology.”)

Newser, “Wimbledon Fines Draw Claims of ‘Privilege,’” July 9, 2019

Ezekiel Elliott, running back for the Dallas Cowboys, illustrated the importance of a sincere apology after he shoved a security guard in Las Vegas. The incident was caught on video. Security guard Kyle Johnson filed a criminal complaint against Elliott and requested an apology, which Elliott provided both in person and via Twitter. The problem? “(The in-person apology) wasn’t a sincere apology. He didn’t maintain eye contact. It didn’t seem sincere at all,” said Johnson. (The interaction wasn’t made public, but it’s another reminder that an apology is a performance that should be practiced so that it comes across as intended. Think of Tiger Woods’ disastrous apology following his car accident and the outing of his affairs and carousing.)

CBS Sports, “Ezekiel Elliott’s legal team responds to charges being pressed in Las Vegas, accuses security guard of extortion” July 14, 2019

Nike cancelled the release of a special edition of its sneakers with the 13-star, Betsy Ross flag on the heel “based on concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.” Nike halted distribution of the sneakers after Colin Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback, privately criticized the design. (We are offended that Nike would behave in such a historically ignorant manner and we agree with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who said, “Words cannot express my disappointment at this terrible decision.” He added his dismay that Nike “has bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical revisionism.”)

The New York Times, “Nike Drops ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Kaepernick Criticizes It,” July 2, 2019

“I have not committed an illegal act and I have not committed an act of corruption,” said Puerto Rico’s now-Former Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who was caught communicating inappropriately via the messaging app Telegram with members of his administration. Rossello called female politicians words we can’t print even in the BIMBO Memo, mocked an overweight man and made other wildly inappropriate remarks. In addition to Rossello’s BIMBO comment, this incident offers another example of how communication via electronic platforms like messaging apps, email and social media are guaranteed to be more broadly distributed than originally intended. (Given Puerto Rico’s troubles, it was predictable that these conversations would leak. Also astonishing is that there were 900 pages of the private chats, and two of the participants held senior communications positions. Revoke their credentials!) 

AP News, “'Chatgate' scandal throws Puerto Rico’s governor into crisis,” July 16, 2019

MORE EXAMPLES

A video was posted that showed a young woman taking a carton of Blue Bell ice cream out of a Walmart freezer, opening and licking the carton and then putting it back in the freezer. Predictably, the video went viral. (The offender, a teenager, was ultimately located. Blue Bell, which suffered terrible publicity with outbreaks of listeria several years ago, handled it well by thanking customers for bringing the video to their attention and saying, “The safety of our ice cream is our highest priority, and we work hard to maintain the highest level of confidence of our customers.” We hope this prediction is wrong, but we think we’ll see more of these tastings.)

The Dallas Morning News, “Police track down Texas teen who licked Blue Bell ice cream, put it back in Walmart freezer,” July 5, 2019

A new Fort Worth medical school is introducing communication as another hard skill alongside sciences. Administrators noted that they view effective communication with patients as a key to providing better health care. Part of the training involves learning “compassionate practice.” We must admit, we were surprised to see Assistant Dean Dr. Evonne Kaplan-Liss say, “Compassion is not a part of medicine today ...” The school, a joint venture between TCU and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, intends to change medical education.

The Dallas Morning News, “A doctor who actually listens? New Fort Worth medical school aims to train students in empathy,” July 13, 2019

Presentation skills have traditionally taken center stage at beauty pageants in the form of song, dance or other musical talent. Camille Schrier, a 24-year-old biochemist, was just crowned Miss Virginia for her scientific talent that demonstrated “the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.” We can hardly wait to see what’s next!

Insider, “A 24-year-old biochemist won the Miss Virginia pageant by performing a science experiment onstage as her talent,” July 1, 2019

“Conducting criminal activity in this extreme heat is next-level henchman status, and also very dangerous,” said police officers in Boston on the Boston Police Department’s Facebook page. The officers added, “Due to the extreme heat, we are asking anyone thinking of doing criminal activity to hold off until Monday.” Not to be outdone, the New York Police Department tweeted, “Sunday has been cancelled. Stay indoors, nothing to see here. Really, we got this.” (This is terrific! We’ve been preaching the use of humor as a way to get people’s attention and enlist them. Way to go!)

Sky News, “Police tell criminals to take the weekend off as stifling heat grips US,” July 21, 2019

Concerned about being misquoted? Almost 100 percent of our clients are, and they frequently claim a reporter’s quotes were out of context or twisted. Here’s our latest example. After Serena Williams lost in the Wimbledon finals, a reporter asked her about a comment from tennis great Billie Jean King. The reporter quoted King as saying Williams “should stop being a celebrity for a year and stop fighting for equality and just focus on tennis.” Serena’s response made news, but we were most interested in what columnist Christine Brennan discovered. She identified King’s original comments about Williams made during an interview with British website Metro. After listing Serena’s commitments and noting that “trying to help gender equity, particularly for women of color” makes an attempt to win another Grand Slam “much harder,” King said: “I would like to see her put everything else aside from that. She’s got people working on these things. This is just a wish I have, it’s not fair to her, but I wish she would just make a commitment for the next year-and-a-half to two years and just say, ‘I’m going to absolutely devote what’s necessary for my tennis so when I look in the mirror when I’m older, that I can go back in my mind and know I gave everything I had and be happy. But if she’s happy doing it this way, it’s fine. It’s not about us.”  

USA Today, “Opinion: Serena Williams will never stop equality fight. Billie Jean King would have it no other way,” July 13, 2019

The BIMBO Memo is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. It’s named for the young woman who was caught with a high profile, but alas married man. She held a press conference and announced, “I am not a BIMBO,” thus causing everyone to think she was.