The double-edged sword of slick PR

Published on Thursday 13 September 2007 01:14

WHEN does a profile-raising campaign get out of hand? When the tail starts wagging the dog and the campaign becomes the story. Like an incredibly creative advertisement which has people talking about it rather than the product, so the PR machine behind the Find Madeleine campaign was being discussed within weeks of the child going missing.

One BBC local radio station contacted me in early June to ask if I would comment - not such a strange request considering I had handled media relations for the family of Abbie Humphries, the baby who made national headlines when she was taken from a Nottingham Hospital by a woman pretending to be a nurse in July 1994. However, I declined, as I felt uneasy. Putting one's head that far above the parapet only leads to getting shot and, prophet of doom that I am, I couldn't see a happy outcome to the McCann case.

Abbie Humphries was taken from a maternity ward when only a few hours old. The police and hospital gave the media facts, the parents were presented at a news conference which was covered by a single news crew and photographer. The baby was found within two weeks and we all heaved a sigh of relief. The parents thought they could retreat to their quiet life in Nottingham. Like heck! They were big news and everyone wanted a piece of them. I was running a PR business and was recommended to handle negotiations.

By the end of the day a deal was done with the Mirror and the following morning I was driving to Nottingham The Humphries were at a friend's house and I was met at a garage on the outskirts of the city and taken from there. Then we were all on our way to a "safe house" - binoculars trained on the horizon in case the Sun had tracked us down.

The interview and photos appeared, the Humphries got their cheque and then did disappear from our lives. At first I would get fairly regular calls about them but those soon trickled away when it became obvious that they were not interested in having any sort of media profile.

Perhaps that will happen for the McCanns, but I doubt it.

The Madeleine story has been going on so long that the family have become a part of our daily lives. While one must applaud Justine McGuinness for her incredible feat in keeping the campaign so high profile, it will also be their downfall. Whether Madeleine is found or Gerry and Kate end up in a Portuguese clink there's no way that they'll be able to fade into anonymity, and the media's appetite will not be sated with exclusive interviews. Until now the McCanns have enjoyed an easy ride, but with the police barking up a tree that may or may not be the wrong one, journalists covering the case are hedging their bets. For some people, it's suddenly become OK to say that perhaps there is something to it and to question the conflicting stories from friends. The snipers are indeed trained on those now familiar faces.

• Fiona Duff is an Edinburgh-based PR adviser.