Updated - NBR - fail; Veuve Clicquot - fail

Why would we be awarding "fail" marks to the National Business Review, and the makers of Veuve Clicquot bubbles? Have a read of this post over at WhaleOil's blog, and you'll get the picture. WhaleOil explains:

NBR ran a com­pe­ti­tion to cel­e­brate their 40th birth­day, in con­junc­tion with Veuve Clic­quot. Here in the blo­gos­phere we have had issues before with Veuve Clic­quot and their less than trans­par­ent com­pe­ti­tions. We had sus­pi­cions that NBR and Veuve Clic­quot would con­spire to rob the right­ful of their prize.

It is ironic that NBR and Veuve Clic­quot utilised social media, includ­ing blogs, Face­book and Twit­ter to encour­age entrants to solicit sup­port and pub­lic­ity for NBR and Veuve Cliquot yet they ignore the results of the ensu­ing online voting.

Yes you heard it here first NBR have cho­sen their win­ner and it isn’t Busted Blonde who won by a mar­gin as large as her arse. We are unaware of who the win­ner is but I doubt it is Liar Joe either con­sid­er­ing votes didn’t seem to mat­ter and the sim­ple fact fact he couldn’t spell the spon­sors name.

We think this is akin to com­pil­ing the NBR Rich List and then plac­ing Terry Serepisos as num­ber one because BMW, the spon­sor, sold him three cars last year and mirac­u­lously got paid, or per­haps pick­ing a loser ben­e­fi­ciary from South Auck­land as the Rich­est Per­son in New Zealand because they have the most love with 22 children…..hold on that would make Bob Jones num­ber one.

Quite sim­ply NBR and Veuve Clic­quot can no longer be trusted as either a source for news or as a decent lux­ury brand when they bla­tantly make up rules as they go along and when an out­come doesn’t suit their PR firms pitch for the com­pe­ti­tion just com­pletely rub­bish the input of the thou­sands of peo­ple who in good faith voted for Busted Blonde, includ­ing we must add many mem­bers of the media who were look­ing for­ward to con­sum­ing free piss on someone’s ticket.

There's a whole lot more, and we reckon that questions will be being asked at both companies as to how they could have stuffed this up so badly; really serious questions, with possible career-limiting potential. The NBR's 40th birthday bash has been ruined, and Veuve Clicquot suffers guilt by association.

There's only one way for this to end happily. The NBR needs to get Busted Blonde in quick-smart, weigh her, and give her double the promised amount of Veuve. That might work. But as of tonight, the ball is fairly and squarely in the NBR's court. It's their stuff-up to put right, and as Alan Martin from LV Martin always used to say "It's the putting right that counts"!!

UPDATED: We wonder how the wallahs at Veuve Clicquot and Barry Colman, the owber of NBR are feeling this morning. The blogosphere is giving them an absolute towelling:

WhaleOil notes that it's Social Media destruction on a grand scale

Cactus Kate quaffs a few bubbles, but Veuve is off the menu, as is the NBR when her sub runs out

Clint Heine reckons that NBR can't be trusted

Will de Cleene will be drinking other brands of bubbles

And Roarprawn, of course, is at the heart of it all, as that is where this the insult has been delivered. Hell clearly has no fury like a woman blogger scorned! Social media have risen up and bitten these cowboys in the bottom line, and that is just as it should be.