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Friday was a great day for the Allergan Corporation. They got a fortune of free advertising for one of their major products in the New York papers.
Whoever handles PR for Allergan deserves a raise.
They got some New York sportswriters to promote a weight-loss procedure, and didn’t have to pay a dime for ads.
Rex Ryan has lost a 106 pounds after having a certain device placed in his stomach in 2010.
To buy a full-page ad in the New York Post is probably around $50,000.
But Allergan didn’t have to do that. The Post promoted their product for free.
“Am I getting paid to talk about the [weight loss procedure]? Absolutely, yes, I am,” Rex said to the Post. “But do I believe in this product 100 percent? I had my twin brother do it . . . I can’t recommend something more strongly than the [weight loss product] because of what it’s done for me.”
I’m taking out the name of the product because I don’t work for the company.
The Associated Press reaches people all around the country and the world. The ran this promotional quote for the product.
“My message is: Do I believe in [the product]? There’s no question, 100 percent,” Ryan told the AP.
The Newark Star-Ledger chipped in.
“To me, the answer was without question having the [procedure done], and it has been great.” Ryan said.
This sounds like an informercial. Where is Anthony Sullivan when we need him? Why would writers go along with this? Let Allergan pay for an ad.
Look, I think it’s awesome that Rex lost 106 pounds, and improved his health. He deserves a lot of credit for that. As most of us know, losing weight isn’t easy to do. Look how great he looks now, compared to the photo above, from before his significant weight loss.
But why would writers sit there, and allow themselves to be used like that?
Is getting an interview with Ryan that big a deal? The man spoke in the OTA’s and minicamps, and will speak every day at training camp.
I do think Rex is a good football coach and a top-shelf defensive mind, but I do think he’s a little overrated as a quote.
He says stuff about players that is often hyperbole, and some of the reporters in the room, who sometimes act like stenographers, just repeat it.
I don’t want to name any players because I don’t want to pick on them, but Rex embellishes how well players are doing all the time.
Also, after the beat writers were told by an organization spokesman that the team was not going to be on “Hard Knocks,” Brian Costello saw Rex at an event, and asked the coach if it’s true the team wasn’t going to appear, and he responded, “That’s news to me.”
C’mon. How could we know, and he didn’t. He just didn’t want to talk about it.
Allergan is a wealthy company – why be their lacky?
Whoever handled this press tour is a genius. I’m serious. To get major New York area newspapers to promote your product, and not pay them a dime for advertising, is brilliant.
July 20, 2012
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