Archive for May, 2010

Schadenfreude. Taking pleasure in the misfortunes or discomfort of others.

We all do it at some point. Or at least I’m cynical enough to cast that halo out from me to all of humanity and assume you all chuckle at the plight of others — even if it’s just sometimes. I’m not talking about laughing at the starving or the homeless. That’s just flat out wrong. But sometimes, it does give a chuckle to the inner Don Rickles when a faux pas happens in plain site.

Today, I had to drop a clothesline on someone who made a public statement that was just blatantly celebrating the folly of another.  While clearly qualified to make the correction, it’s also ironic it came from me because I still get a chuckle at this once proud PR guy: James Andrews.

Full disclosure: I worked at Ketchum some time ago.  Great agency. And FedEx is one of the terrific companies I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career. They sponsored and ran community relations programs that I’ve never seen equaled by any company (e.g. Trees for Troops).

FedEx delivers Christmas trees for U.S. military families. That's the right stuff.

I guess Mr. Andrews didn’t have that perspective when he chose to make fun of his client’s HQ city of Memphis, Tennessee.

- Jose Mallabo