You stay classy, this Christmas

If there are two things former newspaper journalists love, it’s Ron Burgundy and the Royal Family, if those things can be counted as “things’’.

And when a former journalist can write about the two in one blog post, as I am about to do here, it’s about as good a Christmas gift as one could give to oneself, while still getting paid.

We all know journalists love a good quote, not to mention an unquantifiable superlative, so it does not pain me at all to state that Anchorman, featuring San Diego TV news anchorman Ron Burgundy, is the most quoted movie in history.

One of my favourite quotes from Anchorman is Ron’s nightly sign-off after delivering the prime-time news: “You stay classy, San Diego.’’

So, when members of the Royal Family appeared before crowds and cameras for the Together at Christmas carol concert last week, many of them in matching shades of burgundy and looking very classy indeed, I couldn’t be more delighted.

It can be hard to stay classy in the face of unfair and unfounded allegations but this display by the Royal Family on the same day Harry and Meghan’s second round of extremely pointed Netflix accusations landed was a masterclass in class.

Choreographed by some of the best spin doctors and fashion stylists in the business, it was a deliberate display of staying above it all when the opposition has resorted to the bottom of the barrel.

No words were said, nor needed. Just dozens and dozens of great shots of luminous people looking great in matching winter coats to fill up pages and pages of newspaper and web content as the most powerful response possible.

There were no victims here. They were all on the other side of the pond.

It’s a tip for all of us. If you know something is going to land that could potentially damage your brand, don’t just plan a diversion, make it a classy diversion.

Photo sourced from the Guardian.