Leadership, public relations • May 22nd, 2008

Pistol-packin’ pitchman

by Chris Lato

I have long held Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke in fairly high regard. As a former reporter, I admire his willingness to shoot straight and call them as he sees them. Sometimes that lack of a filter causes him to step in it, but I get the sense through his public persona he is a no-nonsense, law-and-order guy who surely rubs some people the wrong way and doesn’t tolerate insubordination – that’s part of his appeal.

Of course, his fellow Democrats don’t like him much. He’s a Republican in Democrat clothing, they say. Eh, whatever. Both parties have plenty of those. It is what it is. If I lived in Milwaukee County, he’d have my vote.

At the same time, I can’t imagine working on one of his political campaigns or being in the position of handling his communications – he seems like the type who knows exactly what he wants and isn’t open to guidance. That can be disastrous. Sure, he headed successful campaigns for sheriff, but the less said about his run for Milwaukee Mayor, the better.

With that in mind, if Clarke had any advisors with a lick of sense, they would have urged him not to do a radio ad for Valvoline oil change shops, under the guise of sending out a safety message before the big Memorial Day holiday weekend. And apparently, Clarke wouldn’t have listened.

You can see the story here, courtesy of my friends and former employers at WTMJ-AM.

I heard the ad this week while listening to Mark Belling. At first, I thought, “No big deal.” He’s talking about ways to make sure your car is safe to drive. Then, toward the end of the ad, Clarke says, “Visit any Valvoline instant oil change, your car care expert.”

And with that, the sheriff crosses the line from concerned public official to pitchman. He claims he thought it would be edited out, but come on. Is the sheriff really that much of a rube? And if what he claims is true, why hasn’t he demanded the ad be changed?

I recall hearing an on-air version of the WTMJ story that indicated Clarke wasn’t paid to do the spot - that it was strictly in exchange for the opportunity to get out the safety message.

I don’t know that this is unprecedented, and I’d like to hear any examples of public officials doing something similar, but Clarke’s move opens a big fat can of worms.

Does Sheriff Clarke have any standards when doing the ads? How can he say no to anyone who approaches with a script that offers some sort of safety message? What’s next, Clarke telling folks to enjoy delicious Miller Lite as long as the spot has an anti-drunk driving statement? Will Clarke be telling listeners to head down to the local gun store, as long as the ad contains a bit about trigger locks?

Also, the argument can be made that Sheriff Clarke is potentially compromised if any wrongdoing tied to Valvoline has to be investigated by his office. There are ways around that, but why put yourself in that position in the first place?

Sheriff Clarke continues to blaze his own trail – good for him. But that independent streak also leads to some head-scratching moves – and when it’s coupled with a bull-headed unwillingness to listen to advice or admit to misguided decisions, potential PR disasters are always lurking.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Leadership, public relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.