Public Relations Nightmares: Lessons Learned

The story about Toyota Motor Corp.'s problems with the "unintended acceleration" story made history in the Public Relations arena in 2010. Toyota now joins rank with other big companies that have impaired the public interest by ignoring or mishandling information. Here's a look at the PR Walk of Shame:

Toyota, 2010: The most disturbing aspect of the Toyota story is that the company appears to have dismissed early questions about the unintended acceleration problem. "Toyota either ignored or minimized reports of sudden acceleration," Representative Edolphus Towns, a Democrat from New York, told company chief Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder, during a congressional hearing in February. So far, five deaths have been linked to the accelerator problem, and 29 more fatalities are under investigation. Toyota faces a criminal inquiry as well as untold civil penalties and lasting damage to its reputation and to its business.

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.: On August 9, 2000, the U.S. government announced that Bridgestone/Firestone would "voluntary" recall 6.5 million radial tires, at a cost of about $350 million. But the recall came two years after the first complaints that tires were coming apart at the seams and after a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pointed a finger at the company. Almost 200 deaths were linked to the recalled tires.

Merck, 2004: The pharmaceuticals giant faced questions as early as 2000 about the safety of Vioxx. The painkiller, once prescribed to 80 million people worldwide, had been associated with heart-related health risks and the risk of stroke. It was recalled in 2004, and Merck set aside $970 million to cover legal costs. According to some estimates, the drug may have contributed to nearly 28,000 deaths.

Wyeth, 1997: Faced with a crisis over a potentially lethal antiobesity drug combo known as Fen-Phen, American Home Products decided to address the problem by changing its name to Wyeth. In retrospect, the name change has an air of black comedy about it. AHP marketed fenfluromine and phentermine, which were taken together as an obesity treatment. Fenfluromine was linked to lung and heart problems and government and private researchers examined 100 deaths among users. The liabilities in the case hit about $13 billion. Wyeth was eventually sold to Pfizer.

General Motors, 1963: In his groundbreaking book on the U.S. auto industry, Unsafe at Any Speed, consumer advocate Ralph Nader used one of his eight chapters to address concerns with the Chevrolet Corvair, a sporty compact car. The chapter famously asserts that the 1960-63 models were accident prone, and that GM ignored the advice of a Chevy mechanic, George Caramagna, who advised that an anti-roll bar be incorporated into the design. The company decided to address the situation by developing special tire pressures, which weren't well communicated to salespeople and owners. And GM hired detectives to dig up dirt on Nader.