Meghan, Duchess of Sussex spotted out and about

[queentim]

Recently spotted at a TSwift (allegedly), Barbie movie for her birthday, a restaurant, and then hanging out with friends in an Instagram selfie. She looks phenomenal in this photo!

Glad to see she's enjoying her life back home with her family.

Meghan summer selfie

Ok? And? Makes sense to me.

Who, me? I am literally summarising the emails between Archewell and the school here. You can go and check yourself. A redlined copy of the press release is among them.

That’s not the Archewell staff writing that, it’s the NYC schools press secretary trying to tone it down. She’s very nice about it but has to let them know the children can’t be used for promotion. Among many other things that are in the exchanges.

However, don’t take my word / interpretation - no need; the emails are there in black and white.

Crossposted!

That’s ok, I don’t care enough.
Im failing to see the point.
Seems like normal PR stuff to me, not exclusive to Archewell.

I’m agreeing.

I think you both misunderstand me. It’s normal PR stuff. This isn’t revealing anything interesting or revolutionary.

It looks like they went to a lot of trouble to try to look good, even at something as philanthropic as visiting a school for disadvantaged children.

Guess that might add a little bit of opacity to all those events 'where no one has anything negative to say about them', now we will wonder if that is only because they were made to sign an NDA to limit any negative comments.

Those emails from their own staff provide further proof they rely heavily on a curated PR strategy to mould their public persona.

The wider point, for some people, is that the visit to the school was pretty obviously intended to promote The Bench. The press release as originally drafted was completed focussed on Meghan - it only contained a biography of her, and had a whole blurb about the Bench. It mentioned that a Meghan would be viewing a mural at the school “inspired by the Bench” (that whole part was deleted) It said Meghan was donating two boxes of vegetables (not Harry as well, though he was obviously also there. The press statement pretty much said he would also be attending).

Again, this is literally every person or company that uses a PR firm.

That was a smart PR move.

Yes, it’s good PR - from penguin random house website:

Meghan were accompanied by Principal Melitina Hernandez and two student ambassadors. To support the school’s ongoing community efforts, the Duke and Duchess are donating two garden boxes filled with vegetables and herbs to help support a growing need in the community for easy access to fresh and healthy food.
Archewell worked with partner Proctor & Gamble to stock P.S. 123’s pantry with free-of-cost products to help families take care of their personal health and hygiene and create clean and healthy homes. Additionally, they will be donating a washing machine and dryer for the school to use for students’ uniforms. The Duchess of Sussex is also donating reading nooks to many Graham Windham locations in New York City, to support families’ access to books and facilitate bonding opportunities for parents and children. And First Book, in partnership with Penguin Random House, will donate books through their nationwide network of educators serving kids in underserved communities.

Good PR and kids and their families benefit.

That’s not a problem when you have PR being done for an obvious commercial purpose. Here, the lines are completely blurred.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting a disadvantaged school in New York to promote literacy as part of their philanthropic mission. Actually though, that’s a cover (especially the promoting literacy bit as that was a later add specifically to make the visit sound more substantial). The point of the visit was actually just to promote Meghan’s commercial enterprise, The Bench. So, not the dominant purpose was not philanthropy, but making money.

Good to hear

I didn’t know that.
Job well done for all parties.

Judging by @Morestrangerthings1 post, I’d say the philanthropy was more than significant. Sounds like all parties benefited from the arrangement.

Successful PRing. That’s the way it works.

The disadvantaged school was asked to provide cushions to match the 'duchess's aesthetic '.

So either they had cushions to match or not. If they didn’t then no big deal, doesn’t hurt to ask?

Did they tell them to go and purchase some?

No issue with a disadvantaged school being used as a prop for self promotion here, then?

I’m struggling to find the actual emails and not the paraphrased sentences in the press. Does anyone know where I can find them?

At least a Hermes blanket was left off the request, 😀😀

That wasn’t actually in the emails though - or if it was I didn’t see it. I saw the Archewell staff member say she was “talking all things rugs and cushions” with someone else (or words to that effect) for the visit

Personally I think it was completely tone deaf to turn up wearing hundreds of thousands worth of clothes and jewellery.

Did they actually follow through on what they promised, reading nooks and a washing machine do we know?

Rather conveniently we only have the couples word to go on as everyone else involved has been gagged for eternity!!

I don’t think it would be considered successful PRing if the exact emails were sent by Laura’s Bush team to promote her children’s books?
I doubt it’s standard practice .

They are in this article

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12558341/amp/Harry-Meghan-Archewell-team-requests-cushions-new-carpet-film-Harlem-elementary-students-Netflix-doc.html