Borat Make Glorious PR!
Nobody understands the value of bad publicity better than Sascha Baron-Cohen, known now as Ali G, of the eponymous show on HBO, and soon to be recognizable as Borat, as his film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan is due to hit screens shortly.
In short, Cohen plays Borat, an enthusiastic reporter from the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, whose wide-eyed appreciation of the wonders of America skewer both Americans and their notions of foreign nations in a single stroke. Unfortunately, the government of Kazakhstan is literally besides itself in outrage, purchasing full-page ads in major newspapers and screaming for face time with Bush in order to denounce this horrific attack on their Progressive And Not At All Anti-Semitic country. Borat has deftly turned their efforts into a Bad PR masterstroke.
The bottom line? I’d suggest they sign over their marketing budget to Cohen, except it wouldn’t go nearly as far for him in his hands.
