1. McDonalds in PR conundrum
McDonalds have got themselves into an interesting conundrum by promising publicly, by the way of a press release, that they will ‘be reaching out’ to Charles Ramsey, the man credited with saving the three kidnapped girls in Cleveland USA. Ramsay famously announced shortly after the event, in front of the worlds press, “I did it just after eating a Big Mac”.

What form of reward the corporate giant have in mind is currently unknown, but it has raised an interesting debate about how big brands and organisations should respond when they are inadvertently thrust into significant news stories.

In McDonalds’ case, the story is particularly disturbing and shocking. Knowing how best to respond so as not to appear callous, mercenary and opportunistic is not straight forward. Their position is further complicated by Charles Ramsay’s colourful past, consisting of 3 convictions of domestic violence and a period in jail, just over a decade ago.

What is clear, is that having made a promise so publicly, McDonalds will have to follow through and devise a ‘reward’ for Ramsay that shows it to be true to its word, whilst not damaging its brand reputation by being seen to try and profit from a truly awful and horrific experience for 3 women.

For more on the story and some examples of other brands caught up in news stories click here.

2. P Diddy does Downton Abbey

The power of social media has been highlighted once again this week, with the release of rapper P Diddy’s spoof Downton Abbey trailer.

Mid-week, the US hip-hop star announced via Twitter, that he was to star in the hit UK TV Show, as the first black cast member.

This was followed shortly after with the release of a spoof video clip, with P Diddy taking advantage of so fancy editing skills, to introduce his own character, Lord Wolcott, into the show.

The show’s producers were bemused but played along, no doubt conscious of the huge amount of coverage P Diddy’s endorsement and fresh take on the show would generate.

There is no doubt in our mind that P Diddy’s actions will help the already hugely successful show, gather yet more fans.

Time will tell if ‘Lord Wolcott’ is ever to make an appearance on the show. Our money would be on a debut on next year’s Comic Relief show!

You can watch the video here.

3. Image-editing site PicMonkey

We’ve featured this before in a newsletter as one of our top tips, but it is so good we wanted to draw people’s attention to this great picture editing site once again.

If you find Photoshop frustrating but other picture editors too basic, PicMonkey could be for you. It is a free, cloud picture-editing website that allows users to simply and easily edit their images, without the need to purchase expensive software or get to grips with the unintuitive interface of Photoshop.

It has some really cool features that enable a novice to appear a Photoshop pro and it can be accessed on any computer where there is an internet connection.

To find out more and to give it a try visit PicMonkey.