Archive for April, 2006

On occasion I like to take an issue I see in the news and point out something that seems like an obvious PR tactic. Here is the example. Financial adviser accused of defrauding Utahns.

(When I say PR, I am referring to the fact that Mark Shurtleff knows how to use the media as a tool to create an image or a mood around a situation).

This guy Clifton Sneed is being accused of defrauding Utahns out of some money after he “guaranteed a 16.2 percent return on investments in ‘Ad Toppers’ LCD screens. The 15-inch monitors were to be placed in high-traffic areas and carried advertising at a rate of $54 a month per client.” Okay, let’s go on.

The part that is important here concerns who Attorney General Mark Shurtleff uses as an example. “Among his (the accused, not Shurtleff) alleged victims was an 85-year-old, legally blind man who lost $32,000.” BAM! This guy must be a crook if he is stealing $32,000 from blind senior citizens. If it’s all true, he’s a crook none the less, but Shurtleff knows how to make his case.