Read my lips – no more kissing

Internal newsletters are there to tell staff what’s happening in the company – or so the Diary thought. A copy of the latest bulletin from Mediaedge:CIA slipped onto the Diary’s desk this week and there, among the articles on mixed-media campaigns and agency collaboration, was a one-column article about kissing – a rather odd topic for a newsletter.

The author – Mediaedge:CIA chief executive Fiona McAnena – used almost a third of the newsletter to talk about how she doesn’t like being kissed by colleagues and clients. She says that she wouldn’t mind if men did it to each other, but because only women are subject to this slobbering, the friendly pecks are sexist – and she might be right. She goes on to suggest ways of avoiding the kiss, but points out that holding your hand out to be shaken just gives men a handle with which to pull you in for a smacker. So listen up guys – unless you’re going to start kissing each other, leave the women alone.