Andrew Bayly has officially entered his Pete Campbell era, leaving Christopher Luxon stuck playing a less charismatic Don Draper – forced yet again to mop up after a subordinate who can’t read the room.
Like Mad Men’s resident booze-filled troublemaker, Bayly ignored repeated warnings to tone it down, first embarrassing himself at a winery with juvenile taunts, then doubling down by getting a little too handsy with a staffer’s arm.
Now, Luxon is left smoothing things over publicly, echoing Draper’s irritation each time Campbell’s lack of nuance, entitlement, and arrogance got the agency in hot water. If Bayly thought a brief resignation would quiet things, he’s underestimated the damage he’s done and the press’s appetite for this sort of content. I wonder if Bayly reenacts his version of Pete fleeing NYC for Kansas.
I also wonder if Luxon knows that PR issues are weak spots for the opposition to exploit and they rarely fade quietly.
Add Bayly to coalition drama and other recent self-inflicted wounds, and a pattern emerges. The unfortunate part for National is that the messages you want in public suffer from two afflictions. The first is a lack of space to be aired amongst the chaos and the second is a leader stuck playing defence instead of pushing the party narrative forward – exactly where you don’t want to be.
If you’re a PR pro, here’s the advice. I can’t remember a case of mine where bad behaviour magically disappeared. So when people dripping with risk repeatedly ignore warnings, have plan and act swiftly when the worst does happen. It helps to put the victim’s wellbeing first (not the time you’d like to get your affairs quietly in order). And remember, the quicker you reset the narrative, the less time opponents have to exploit it.
