Managing the Da Vinci crisis

Let’s go back to 2003-2006.

Those of you who remember the Da Vinci Code phenomenon will recall the controversy it created, particularly its portrayal of certain aspects of Christianity.

Those of you who also read the book or watched the movie will remember the part where Silas, the murderous, albino monk, goes to St. Sulpice church in search of the Holy Grail.

Today, you can walk inside St. Sulpice in Paris (like I did this summer) and see that which was made famous by the novel and subsequent movie: the Rose Line; where Silas smashed a hole in the floor; the place where the nun may have been standing in the balcony... if a balcony existed in real life.

You can also see evidence of the church’s attempts to separate fiction from fact, but avoiding one of the principles of crisis comm - “tell it all”: Recent best selling novel? Do you mean The Book That Must Not Be Named?

If I ever go into crisis communications, it will be a shame to have to fix amusing signs like this:

See more of my European experience here.