PR Week Offers Free Advice to Philip Morris

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Now that Philip Morris has apologized for its role in commissioning a report claiming that the Czech Republic benefits from the premature deaths of smokers, the August 6 issue of PR Week asked PR pros, "How can Philip Morris regain PR ground following the publication of the Czech report?" Advice from the experts included:

• "More advertisements praising the philanthropic activities of its Kraft and Miller subsidiaries would be wise."
• "The best thing for it to do is minimize its public profile."
• "Partner itself with a consumer watchdog group."
• "Fire all of those involved in commissioning these studies, and obtain confidentiality statements from each of them."
• "Resist interview requests; any interviews on this will be no-win situations."