Shinawatra's Own Goal [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
Former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra [3], has called in the founder of of the U.K-based PR firm, Bell Pottinger [4], Tim Bell [5], to help rebuild his image. Shinawatra, who bought the Manchester City soccer club last year, has infuriated [6] supporters, players and board members by signaling his intent to dump the popular club manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson. Players recently canvassed the possibility of boycotting a promotional tour of Thailand. PR Week reports that Shinawatra relied on a PR campaign to help puff his image when he first bought the club. "Many fans were won over earlier this season by a dizzying round of star signings and Shinawatra clips on You-Tube, including one of him attempting to sing Blue Moon. Shinawatra was soon known as 'Frank Sinatra' by the City fans, a name conjured up by the PR team to soften his image," David Quainton reports.