Danny Brown - Latest Comments in Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

tweet_fail — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:30:19 -0000

@Cathy Why do I get the impression that your commment is really just an ad for Melrose Jewelers and not a real comment at all?

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:56:54 -0000

I think it's less hatred and more disgust and disbelief at the poor PR decision in the first place, Cathy.

Issuing cease and desist letters haven't helped in that department either, it would appear.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Cathy — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:08:17 -0000

I actually bought a watch from Melrose Jewelers this Christmas. I don't understand why they would issue a release about that. They seemed like a legitimate company and I love my watch. I saved a lot of money going with them. It looks like they took down the blog and issued an apology. I don't think it's right in the first place but why all the hatred towards them?

Here's the watch I bought:
http://www.melrosejewelers.com/info/ladies_super_president_404.htm

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Mike Ashworth — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:13:12 -0000

p.s. looks like they had a go with a lance armstrong "press release" about a month before the owen wilson one

http://www.reuters.com/arti...

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Mike Ashworth — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:46:47 -0000

having re-read the post above do you think that Rolex is none too ghappy with the actiosn of Melorse, that's the way it reads to me?

the MSNBC news story has now been taken down

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

marianne oconnor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:20:59 -0000

Given the 1.2M+ lawyers we currently have running around the U.S. and the legions of competent PR folks who are standing at the ready, I'd strongly suggest Melrose "switch out" its current team — and the sooner the better. It's a crime to pay for such ham-handed PR/legal advice!

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Adam Singer — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:37:06 -0000

I'm still waiting for the day I get a cease and desist letter...hellooooo web traffic :)

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

mcolacurcio — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:23:03 -0000

Danny,
Good for you. In some instances, I think the 'no publicity is bad publicity' works. I think that statement is accurate when the publicity is drummed up as a result of something neutral (e.g. negative comments on a controversial blog post incite heated discussion which drive more comments). In this case, the publicity is 100% negative which may increase their awareness but won't benefit their brand. To quote @brandingexpert "everyone knows about cancer, but how many people actually want it?"

Thanks for posting.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:40:34 -0000

You make a good point of brand monitoring. As you say, when you have ownership of a blog or website, what's then posted on there does fall under your "watch".

The blog is on a sub-domain of the main Melrose Jewelers website. Therefore, they should be actively monitoring what's being said in their name. If they leave content that's posted by others, they're then saying that they're happy for it to be there.

In which case, if something is seen to be in poor taste, doesn't that then reflect on the host?

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:35:57 -0000

While I've never been a believer in the "all publicity is good publicity" mantra, I know that many others do work by it. As you say, Karthik, perhaps this is the view on this occasion? I guess time will tell.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:34:30 -0000

The thing is, situations like this can be so easily avoided. One of the best recent examples was the Motrin Moms fiasco that first started on Twitter.

Although it took a couple of days for Motrin to react, the job they did was excellent. They invited moms to their offices to discuss how best to deal with the flak that occurred; they removed the offending ad and issued a full apology; and they listened to what was being said and worked with the relevant people towards a common goal.

People make mistakes or errors in judgment every day. So do businesses. It's a natural process. It's how these errors are dealt with that make the real news.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:30:53 -0000

I assume that if Melrose Jewelers are monitoring their brand, then they will also have details of all the other blog posts, forum discussions, Twitter conversations and more. So maybe you'll join the club :)

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Karthik S — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:41:11 -0000

I feel Melrose Jewelers have resorted to this C&D action ONLY to gain more PR - no PR is bad PR, after all, in their opinion, I suppose. I believe they saw a blog post with reasonably good reach and just went after it in the hope that it'd induce more comments. Guess what...it did! In your case, you did what is right - expose them. They unfortunately gain a lot more in terms of publicity. Lets see how all this publicity translates into business for them - I hope it doesn't and common sense says it wouldn't too...but who knows how they'd spin this further!

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

jacstar — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:34:51 -0000

which makes me wonder if Melrose is operating under the "negative publicity is better than no publicity" attitude.

Perhaps, "Mr. Cole" and client are banking on your posts?

I for one, considered buying a second-hand watch from Melrose after reading about Owen Wilson's near suicide attempt.

Can anyone tell me how to insert an eye-rolly emoticon on this thing?

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Mike Ashworth — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:51:41 -0000

Hiya, i also wrote about this nonsense masquerading as a press release

http://michaelashworth.word...

Don't know if i'll be getting one of these letters too, drop me a line, you have my full support on making the wider world aware of the actions of Melrose and by association Rolex.

The Melrose / Rolex campaign ~I can imagine the headline on the online press release :-)

Mike

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

PurplePeopleEater — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:14:24 -0000

Wow...

Just wow. What a bunch of effing nonsense.

Clearly they didn't really read your original blog post though, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to censor unfavourable opinions about their massive screw-up. I don't care if "joe six-pack" wrote the blog, the company should be monitoring the type of content that's posted on a site that is linked to them. They're logo is at the top of the page!

Hopefully they get their things together and realize how ridiculous this is, and it goes no further than this. I wonder if anyone else got a letter like this, or if they just think that they can pick on the "little guy"?

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Jason Tryfon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:18:53 -0000

I think this reeks of censorship of freedom of speech and a thin skin on the company in in question.

Maybe you should add a disclaimer to your blog stating it's for entertainment purposes and that will make everything ok too.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Ari Herzog — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:46:59 -0000

You know as well as I do (or I think you do) that when something is removed from a blog, it's never really removed. Run a google search and you can probably find the cache. Else, goto the internet archive.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:50:27 -0000

This is the funny thing that most people have said. My original post had died down (traffic-wise) and no-one was really speaking about it anymore. At least, not here - there are plenty of other places around the Net where this story gained a lot of traction.

Yet by sending the letter that they did, it's Melrose themselves that have re-opened everything. Additionally, as Michael Schechter said earlier in the comments, maybe a lot of the negative reactions came from the press release itself.

The blogs and sites that reported on that were only repeating statements made by that release, then offering an opinion. If the opinion was pretty much universally negative, is that really the fault of the bloggers or the issuing company?

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:46:57 -0000

One thing that I did question about the original "release" was whether it had been written by someone in PR. It was taken word-for-word from the original blog post (now removed) at Melrose Jewelers' blog. Which makes me think it was definitely ill-conceived PR but not necessarily carried out or approved by a PR person. I guess we might find out soon.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Josephine — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:39:12 -0000

Danny:

MJ and its attorney are operating from what I would call an old paradigm, one in which big corporations with lawyers historically have had all or most of the power. No more, but some are still operating as if they did--some won't give it up gracefully, and it appears to be somewhat generational in nature.

It is the democratizing and leveling power of the Internet that they don't get yet--but they will, sooner or later--in this case, definitely later. You did nothing illegal, libelous, slanderous or inappropriate, it seems to me (but I would talk to my lawyer). Instead of MJ sending you a cease and desist letter, they should pull any related advertising, quickly and quietly, do standard PR damage control, e.g., a press conference, offer an apology, and perhaps go the extra mile by contributing some money to an organization that assists in suicide prevention. That would be far more appropriate at this juncture, it seems to me, than this silly pecking at you.

The MJ executives need to understand that transparancy and the use of social media are much, much more than offering an "entertainment disclaimer" for blog posts and sending threatening letters to people who write blogs that don't share their views. It makes them look even more ridiculous. They are attempting to fit a legal solution to a problem that is not a legal problem. They won't get anywhere with that approach, although maybe 20 years ago, they might have. They need to learn to do business differently in today's world. That's what Pfizer is doing because of the Motrin moms--MJ needs to learn from the experience of other big corporations.

Having been a teacher, I am giving the MJ CEO and lawyers a homework assignment--go read Social Media Marketing One Hour a Day by Dave Evans. Social media is ignored by corporations at their own peril. They just don't get it yet--but they will--later.

Oh, and MJ, if you are reading this, I'm providing this for entertainment purposes only.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

neilends — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:08:16 -0000

As a lawyer myself (but this is not legal advice and you aren't my client; sorry, the rules make me say that) I'm always dismayed to see other lawyers attempting to quell free speech. I'm glad you stood up for your 1st amendment rights as a blogger.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

FRWFNC — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:09:40 -0000

http://www.breitbart.com/ar...

Apparently Rolexes can save other things as well!

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

FRWFNC — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:44:28 -0000

Wow, Danny, you are such a rebel having those awful opinion things on your blog! You are truly trouble to all! Beware of Danny Brown world.......he tends to think and take positions on matters! Pure evil!

This is just ridiculous. I know it's easy for me to say "Stand your ground" since I am not the one getting the cease and desist letter but what are they going to do?

Here's the thing, PR is about creating buzz. These guys have done that. Just because they have no sense of taste is their problem not ours.

Re: Melrose Jewelers, Rolex and Owen Wilson – The Sequel

Danny — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:41:40 -0000

Thanks Jennifer, I never even thought of that. Mind must be slipping. :)