The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired - JCK Voices

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Rob Bates

The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
November 30, 2006

May 2006:
"We think it's better to embrace this movie, to turn it to our advantage."
- Rory More O'Ferrall at the World Diamond Council meeting in Sicily, talking about the "Blood Diamond"

December 2006:
Q: Did you anticipate the voracity of the response of the international diamond industry against this film? They seem to be mounting a campaign against it.
DICAPRIO ... I had never anticipated, no, that it would be this intense, by any means.
- ABC News

Oh man. Shouldn't the first rule of damage control be "do no harm"? Well, this campaign has done a lot of harm.

Though you gotta hand it to the damage control experts at Sitrick and Company (now 42West.) Some variation of the words "Allan Mayer," "Sitrick and Company" and "Hollywood's top spinmeisters" appears in almost every article about this film. But the message of this campaign -- that diamonds have done good for Africa -- I'm not seeing that quite so much.

I am not saying that the industry shouldn't have thought about its response to this film. But publicly announcing a damage control campaign, placing ads for the website, and fretting about the movie openly, seems to have been a big mistake.

And for the record, I'm sympathetic to this campaign and its goals. I can't imagine how this looks to the outside world.

Further thoughts on this here.

Posted by Rob Bates on November 30, 2006 | Comments (5)

Industries: Diamonds, Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

November 30, 2006
In response to: The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
emma commented:

rob i just wrote a post in the diamond media watch page.. by mistake because i wanted to write it here!!! i actually have a question for you (and Hedda), do you know if ANY screening was done for the jewelry trade press? if NOT,...WHY???? i forgto to ask Leo last night. ciao

November 30, 2006
In response to: The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
Rob Bates commented:

Hi Emma, Well I can say that no screening was done for this member of the jewelry trade press, and the publicity people at Warner's not only won't return my calls but are on the curt side. (This in spite of the fact that one of the NGOs told the Warners people I was an "okay guy." Damn straight!) So it looks like we must pay our $9 like everyone else. Hey, Zwick, DiCaprio, and all the rest -- if you have something you want to say to the diamond and jewelry industry, THIS IS THE IDEAL PLACE TO DO IT.

November 30, 2006
In response to: The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
emma commented:

see i forgto to ask this question too if they actually read JCK online... i think they shoudl. if i see anybody else of the cast i'll ask.. for the moment go see the movie and then let me know what you think about it...i'll try to go see another screening!!!

November 30, 2006
In response to: The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
Jennifer Heebner commented:

Rob, you are so well informed on this subject matter, you should REALLY write a book about the behind-the-scenes diamond world versus what the public sees.

December 11, 2006
In response to: The 9,000th Example that the WDC "Blood Diamond" Campaign Has Backfired
David Keeling commented:

Listen to a copy of Friday Dec. 8 The Current (CBC) www.cbc.ca/thecurrent The producer won't reply to my letter to her, in regards to her abysmal attention to balance in the interviews with NGOs and the author of The Heartless Stone