The saying goes that all publicity is good publicity - but unsurprisingly this little mantra has been overwhelmingly disproved on countless occasions.
A PR company working on behalf of Mastercard ahead of tonight's Brit awards has faced a backlash from journalists today after it asked those covering the event to agree to heavily promote its client in return for press accreditation.
Telegraph journalist Tim Walker exposed House PR's strict guidelines in an interview with Press Gazette.
They included: "Social media support from both publication and personal Twitter feed", "Inclusion of MasterCard branded event night images in post event piece" and "All features to be pushed on publications social feeds – to include @MasterCardUK and #PricelessSurprises".
The email also gave examples of tweets which journalists should post.
The Twitter hashtag #PricelessSurprises, which Mastercard has been using for its promotion of the event, soon began trending after people mocked the publicity failure.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Just found my Visa card. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#PricelessSurprises</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/MasterCard" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/MasterCard" data-vars-event-id="c23">@MasterCard</a>— David Mepham (@DaveMepham) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/DaveMepham/statuses/436184813251600385" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/DaveMepham/statuses/436184813251600385" data-vars-event-id="c23">February 19, 2014</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Having your email to a journalist posted up on a big, press website. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#PricelessSurprises</a>—o Mark Robins (@Markisskill) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Markisskill/statuses/436093534345900032" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/Markisskill/statuses/436093534345900032" data-vars-event-id="c23">February 19, 2014</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Hiring a social media agency - thousands of pounds. Watching your campaign backfire - priceless. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/MasterCardUK" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/MasterCardUK" data-vars-event-id="c23">@MasterCardUK</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PricelessSurprises&src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#PricelessSurprises</a>—o Sean Fleming (@flemingsean) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/flemingsean/statuses/436090614481158144" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/flemingsean/statuses/436090614481158144" data-vars-event-id="c23">February 19, 2014</a>
Posting on Twitter, Walker accused the company of putting unreasonable pressure on journalists to support its promotional campaign.
He said: "As I said on @BBCWorldatOne, it crosses a line when a plug is a condition. I'll plug Mann Booker etc precisely because I'm not required to do so."
But House PR defended its actions.
In a statement, the company's managing director Ginny Paton said: "The role of the PR agency is to pursue all coverage opportunities on behalf of its clients. This includes providing accurate brand references from the outset, for use across all platforms. It is a two-way conversation between the journalist and the PR in order to reach a mutually beneficial outcome."
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In response, Mastercard appeared to distance itself from the entire debacle, describing House PR's approach as "highly inappropriate".
In a statement, it said: "We have become aware of this situation and have been clear with our agency and attending media. Attendance at the Brits is not, nor has it ever been, a condition of coverage or endorsement. To imply such is highly inappropriate."
Walker was later told he could attend the music ceremony with no conditions but appeared to indicate that he had other plans, saying: "So, by popular demand, I'm off to a NSA dinner.... More later....".
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Victory! House PR (MasterCard's PR) have just been in touch to say I can attend <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BRITAwards" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/BRITAwards" data-vars-event-id="c23">@britAWARDs</a> now with NO conditions. What should I do folks?— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ThatTimWalker/statuses/436113357557358593" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-311341-https://twitter.com/ThatTimWalker/statuses/436113357557358593" data-vars-event-id="c23">February 19, 2014</a>
