The Apprentice, the manipulator and ALF

Katie from The Apprentice, the overtly and slightly cartoon like manipulative, devious and selfish person, has been fired from her job as a global branding consultant at the Met Office.

A few things strike me as strange. £90,000 global consultant for the Met Office? Why do they need one and why pay so much?

I always get my weather from the BBC because I am a brand loyal and identify with their hip values. Doesn't make much sense.

Apparently The Met Office denies they did pay Katie that.

She is also clueless about branding as shown on the Apprentice.

But what gets me is that she is complaining that her sacking is The Met's fault:

"I think they wanted the publicity and you have to accept there are two sides to that."

and

The Met "didn't think it through" that her appearance on the show would create both positive and negative publicity.

and

"You are going to get loads of press and the people that let me go on the show wanted to cover their own backs and I have become, yet again, a scapegoat."

No.

It was not that The Met is publicity seeking at any cost organisation. Did they force Katie on the program. And if they are so publicity seeking why does no one really know about what they do except that it has something to do with the weather?

The fact is that Katie brought them into disrepute by her behaviour on the program and allegedly having affairs with married colleagues coming to light, which there are suspicions that she staged the images for the press.

Katie will learn that media communications is like an equation: there is a price to pay for coverage. She is getting her 15 weeks of fame by her despicable behaviour and she is probably using the experience to launch a media career. She cannot complain, she should take responsibility for her own actions.

If you want more serious comment from an Apprentice aficionado go to Jim Symcox's marketing blog.

I have actually pictured sitcom character ALF and not Katie. Look again and you can make out the difference. Can you see it? Yes ALF has less chance in being in a Christmas panto and has more talent in branding.

Enough. Entry on pitching to bloggers coming to this blog shortly.