Pinocchio Syndrome
This interview starts calmly enough, with Wedding Channel Co-Founder and Bella Pictures Co-Founder and VP of Business Development, Jenny Lefcourt being interviewed by Fox 5 Chicago TV Personality, Jan Jeffcoat.
The segment is purportedly about ’saving money on your wedding in today’s economy. It quickly degenerates into a badly conceived infomercial for Bella Pictures, accompanied by a mish-mash of largely bad advice and misinformation about a whole range of choices to be made by the bride.
Fox’s Jeffcoat overly credits Lefcourt’s association with the Wedding Channel. That is a past incarnation, no longer current at the time of the interview. Lefcourt never corrects her, leaving some uncertainty as to whether she is a neutral expert or representing Bella Pictures.
After this interview aired, the Wedding Channel had to issue a firm disclaimer, stating clearly that Lefcourt was no longer associated with their firm, and they were in no way endorsing her on-air comments.
After a few days and a fair amount of heat from various directions Lefcourt wrote a very soft apology letter (pdf) (Dear Wedding Industry). The retraction is never as helpful as the original sin, however. It is clear (at least to me) that the interview (like most interviews) was prepped with talking points and planned questions. There is nothing spontaneous about the questions or answers. To suddenly have wedding industry professionals believe that, in retrospect, mistakes or misstatements were made, is pure bunk. It was not until outside pressure was applied, after the fact, that Lefcourt and Bella took even a half-step back.
I encourage you to view this two to three times to get the full effect of it. Please share this with every wedding professional you know. It is the worst kind of propaganda and disinformation. Things like this should never go unchallenged (more to follow).
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
Tweet This Post
