What Were They Thinking?

Ralph Lauren's official uniforms for Team USA have sparked

a firestorm of controversy.

For decades -- perhaps forever in the context of our profession -- PR practitioners have been begging for the proverbial "seat at the table," an opportunity to provide proactive counsel to organizational leaders as they make important strategic decisions.

There may be no better case for early engagement of PR thinkers than the debacle currently dogging the U.S. Olympic Committee and fashion giant Ralph Lauren, which are under attack for allowing the official apparel to be worn by Team USA at the upcoming London Olympics to be manufactured in China.

As this article in Ad Age points out, this isn't the first time Team USA uniforms have been manufactured overseas . . . in fact, it's more the rule than the exception.  But in the age of social media, when stories like this take on a life of their own well beyond the initial broadcast or publication, it's unthinkable not to have someone in the C-suite considering the PR implications of even the most seemingly harmless decisions.