Endorsed Allotment
Well over a year ago I had the great honour of having three articles published in that hallowed tome of God's own county, The Yorkshire Post. Being the shy, retiring and non-publicity seeking type I didn't mention this to many people, but I was amazed at how many I know saw the articles. I was saturated with the shower of congratulations that came my way (give me a break - every dog has his day!). The most obscure one was a colleague who had recently acquired a new puppy and was in the process of putting my article on the floor to protect it from the puppy's doings, when much to her surprise she saw my face staring up a her. I think she read the piece, but the puppy was completely non plussed with my journalistic endeavour and carried on with the job in hand.
Anyway, whatever impression I created with my articles and subsequent blogs, they gradually permeated the psyche of some ad man as an ad agency recently contacted me. They wanted me to do a series of adverts to promote a new line of gardening tools which would run in a gardening magazine. They rang me one afternoon as I was working from home. They said they wanted me to appear in a three month picture campaign to publicise a new set of innovatively designed garden tools.
Straight away I said no. I said that it would be unethical for me to promote a range of tools that I do not like, and would never use. I told them that I am an ethical organic allotmentor, principled, and essentially communistic in my approach to food production. They replied that this was too bad as they intended to pay me £10,000. I said hold on a moment and I'll go and fetch Mr Coady.
I must admit that this whole incident put me in a moral dilemma, and when I have such difficulties I always defer to my business mentor - known as "The Guru" on the after dinner speech circuit. He agreed with me. He said that it would be morally reprehensible to endorse a product that I would never use. That settled it.
A few weeks later I'm flicking through the magazine and I look at this ad, and there before me is a picture of my mentor leaning on a 'new design' garden spade advertising a new range of garden tools. I was outraged, but in the end not overly surprised. He'd always lurked on the outer fringes of the show biz world and he thought that after dinner speaking might be a stepping stone to C grade celebrity status. During one of his after dinner gigs he tried to engineer a smooth segue way between business morality and the teachings of the bible. His improvised recital of the ten commandments, became confused and entangled and he emerged with a garbled naming of the seven dwarfs.
I'm happy to say that we remain on strained speaking terms, mainly maintained by myself, as he still has a number of my after dinner script invoices to settle.
Anyway, whatever impression I created with my articles and subsequent blogs, they gradually permeated the psyche of some ad man as an ad agency recently contacted me. They wanted me to do a series of adverts to promote a new line of gardening tools which would run in a gardening magazine. They rang me one afternoon as I was working from home. They said they wanted me to appear in a three month picture campaign to publicise a new set of innovatively designed garden tools.
Straight away I said no. I said that it would be unethical for me to promote a range of tools that I do not like, and would never use. I told them that I am an ethical organic allotmentor, principled, and essentially communistic in my approach to food production. They replied that this was too bad as they intended to pay me £10,000. I said hold on a moment and I'll go and fetch Mr Coady.
I must admit that this whole incident put me in a moral dilemma, and when I have such difficulties I always defer to my business mentor - known as "The Guru" on the after dinner speech circuit. He agreed with me. He said that it would be morally reprehensible to endorse a product that I would never use. That settled it.
A few weeks later I'm flicking through the magazine and I look at this ad, and there before me is a picture of my mentor leaning on a 'new design' garden spade advertising a new range of garden tools. I was outraged, but in the end not overly surprised. He'd always lurked on the outer fringes of the show biz world and he thought that after dinner speaking might be a stepping stone to C grade celebrity status. During one of his after dinner gigs he tried to engineer a smooth segue way between business morality and the teachings of the bible. His improvised recital of the ten commandments, became confused and entangled and he emerged with a garbled naming of the seven dwarfs.
I'm happy to say that we remain on strained speaking terms, mainly maintained by myself, as he still has a number of my after dinner script invoices to settle.
Guru, if you are still out there, please do the decent thing and pay up!