By the time you’ve turned the pages of this issue of IST and arrived at this page, Donald Trump will have settled in as the 45th President of The United States of America. As much as his win may have been unexpected in the U.S., it’s fair to say it was certainly not a surprise to me, nor here in Europe with many people both sides of the “pond” disenchanted with career politicians.
With such a bruising campaign providing more twists and turns than a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, there’s no doubt it captured the focus of attention from the European public unlike any previous U.S. Presidential election. Then, factor in the shock and furore surrounding the outcome several months earlier when the Brits voted to exit the European Union, and it’s no understatement to say – even if you happen to be someone with absolutely no interest in politics – that the past 12 months have been full of surprises on the political front across both sides of the “pond.”
As someone with a very keen interest in politics, I very often found myself analyzing the twists and turns of both of these political campaigns. Whilst doing so, it occurred to me that – albeit from a very minor, yet to me, significant and important comparison – the indoor tanning industry has had to, and continues to, endure one of the major criticisms of certain sectors of the media during the Presidential campaign; that of the media genre that is Fake News.
Now of course, I am not referring to anything comparatively on the scale of what has been alleged in many quarters during recent political campaigns. However, not for one minute do I believe that Fake News is an exclusive territory for the political arena. Whilst I have no evidence to support this theory, I would like to say that a lack of evidence of something is not evidence in itself that the scenario doesn’t exist. At the very least, I believe there is a manipulation of the media to focus on our industry as an easy target to deflect from a bigger agenda. But as the whole Fake News agenda starts to shift, perhaps it’s time we thought about giving them a taste of their own medicine.
But enough negativity, as I am one who always looks for the positives. Yes, it’s true there’s a mixed picture here on the economics of post-Brexit. Yet, as a result of recent political events, I am able to make a positive comparison with these events and our own industry; that being the “Special Relationship” that exists between the U.S. and the UK. There are, of course, many longstanding “special relationships” between indoor tanning companies and brands in the U.S. and UK and that is something we should all be proud of as we remain focused and committed to continuing and developing these relationships further going forward.
And it would seem that the U.S./UK “Special Relationship” is firmly on the agenda of our respective political leaders. Just imagine it: senior aides from the White House and Westminster approaching the indoor tanning industry for our top tips on forging that “special relationship” – there’s no doubt that we could certainly teach them a thing or two … what a story that would make!
Who needs Fake News?
