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Rob Ford: This is what brand implosion looks like

If you haven't been following the story, Rob Ford, Toronto's Mayor, has been accused of doing crack cocaine at some point in his adult past.

The accusation comes from an apparent video showing him doing crack. The video has not been released yet and a crowdfunding campaign - crackstarter - has been launched to raise $200k to purchase the video.


Ford has denied the allegations saying: "I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine."

The Globe and Mail today ran an article indicating that members of the Ford family actually sold drugs when they were younger. You can read more here. 

Ford's Chief of Staff recently was terminated for apparently giving the mayor "bad advice" regarding this scandal by telling the mayor that he should just come clean (which by the way is 100 per cent the right advice).  

Here's my two cents on this whole scandal. Did he use crack or some other illegal substance similar to crack in the past? Of course! Is the video legit (even though we haven't seen it yet)? Of course!

If he had not used drugs in the past he would have simply come out and said "Crack cocaine has never touched my lips/nose ever in my life. Whatever so-called video they have either doesn't exist or is faked in some fashion. And let me tell you I'm going to sue the living hell out of the Toronto Star when this is all said and done."

But he didn't say this. Instead he's used the words 'I do not do crack cocaine and I do not have an addiction.' - notice how this leaves the door open for the fact that he could have used crack in the past.  

The whole thing has become a blight on Canada, with even Jon Stewart mocking the mayor. 


So why doesn't Ford just resign or at least come clean? Why drag this out?

I'm sure this is a question a lot of folks are asking. The most likely reasons are:
  • They are probably trying to negotiate with the people who have the video. If they could buy it and keep it out of the public, then technically no one could actually prove the mayor did crack
  • Ford is buying time to assess ways that he could control the damage (calling in favors, talking to lawyers, etc.)
  • They are formulating their PR strategy for after he confesses to using crack cocaine in the past. 
While all three of these items are probably going on, the last one is probably taking up the most time. It takes a heck of a lot of brainstorming and planning to come up with some kind of narrative that explains the use of crack cocaine. And I'm sure they are having to line up past associates of Ford's to provide character references to the media to support whatever narrative he ends up providing. 

There's no question (in my mind) Ford will at some point admit to using crack and the moment he does that he has to go into full damage control. 

The big problem for Ford though is that if he did crack cocaine in the past, what other skeletons does he have in his closet? As this story heats up I'm sure some of those other skeletons will start to show as various folks see their opportunity to get their 15 minutes of fame.  

Here's the thing, the PR strategy for this is simple. 

You come out and say: "Yes, one time in my past I did use crack cocaine. It was a moment of horrible judgement and I never touched cocaine again. I'm deeply sorry that this incident has become the spectacle it has for the citizens of Toronto and Canada. It is my hope that Canadians do not define me by a single moment of lapsed judgement many years ago and that they take into account the years of commitment and hard work I've expended trying to make the city of Toronto the best it can be. It is my hope that the years of work and effort serving the public define me more than a single mistake that happened years ago."

People could, and probably would, forgive him with such a statement. Perhaps forgive is the wrong word, but they at least would not be calling for his head on a platter. It's the kind of statement he should have made the moment the allegations came out. 

So why doesn't he make this statement?

The only thing I can think of is that there is more than one instance of using crack cocaine. If there are multiple incidents, then you can't come out and say it was a 'single incident' (well you could, but when evidence shows up that it wasn't you are deader than dead to the public). 

So what next?

Not much really. Either Ford will figure a way to suppress the tape or he won't. If he doesn't, then we'll get his confession. If he can use the words 'single incident' then he might keep his job. If he doesn't and his confession is wishy-washy and unclear as to his past drug use, then he will finished as mayor. 

Should be an interesting couple of weeks for Ford. 

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