An Apology Couldn't Hurt

You rush to the big Conference Room, briefcase in your left hand, portfolio case in your right. You’ve got the charts and numbers, the cartoon ads and logo changes, an entirely new Ad Campaign with a completely new approach.

You worked hard over the previous week and all last night polishing the presentation, because Ms. Tatum-Holstein, from the Chicago Regional Head Office is going to be there.

She’d like to hear something that might save her division and possibly the whole company. She’d like you to make the public forget the “less-then-ideal” product launch for “Wholesome O’s” you staged last month, in which an entire mobile petting zoo was crushed by a falling shipping container, which happened to be adorned with a giant company logo. 

Unfortunately, the roll-out plan included live coverage of the event so all this was shown on a CBS-Affiliate live television feed, complete with a crowd reactions ranging from fainting to vomiting to catatonia, which has since come in 2nd only to “Gangnam Style” for number of views on YouTube. 

Entering the room you stop, it’s empty, most of the chairs have been overturned and broken, the contents of two entire trays of pastries have been thrown against the wall, the carafes of coffee are smashed against the plate glass windows and there’s a good deal of blood on the table.

You can see now that your memo may have been a mistake and that your assurance, that none of the baby animals suffered, may have fallen on deaf ears.