Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

Whether or not they’ll admit it, women exert a powerful influence on the men in their lives. Why else would he wear that paisley shirt to dinner? (Read: It’s her favorite.) Another, perhaps more surprising area in which women hold sway—as this commercial for Playboy by Y&R South Africa points out—is men’s haircuts. Turns out, they’ve influenced them for years.



As the first female board member at Facebook, COO Sheryl Sandberg will be flexing her influence to see that women play a larger role in the world of technology and social media.

Speaking of Facebook, Gizmodo reports that the social network just changed everyone’s default emails to their @facebook.com account … you know, the one you’ve never used. Luckily, there’s a fix.

Meanwhile, the fix to Facebook’s quietly unveiled “Stalker Find Friends Nearby” app was to pull it as quickly as it was released for testing.

Facebook isn’t the only social network stealing headlines. According to The New York Times, Microsoft ended speculation it would acquire Yammer, the online networking service for businesses, when it announced on Monday that it bought the company for $1.2 billion in cash.

That’s more than the estimated £3 million (approximately $4,681,500) worth of fast food the world’s new largest McDonald’s in London’s Olympic Park hopes to sell during the upcoming summer games. Better take a look inside now. The two-story, 3,000 square feet building is set to be bulldozed after the Paralympics closing ceremony in September.

Wonder if any of Saudi Arabia’s first-ever female athletes to attend the Olympics will pop in for a Big Mac or large fry while visiting in Britain.

While we’re on the topic of foreign affairs, the Vatican has poached former Fox News correspondent Greg Burke to serve as the Pope’s senior communications advisor, a position created specifically for Burke as the church continues to navigate through controversy.

Adidas could have used a better communications advisor when it released its controversial “shackle” shoes recently, but that doesn’t mean the brand stands alone as the only company to make less than stellar marketing choices. In fact, this gallery showcases nine equally offensive products.

A recent campaign from Mike’s Hard Lemonade wasn’t so much offensive as it was just poor thinking on the part of the marketing team. The brand can’t be too upset that someone shattered the glass of a bus shelter where the company had placed an advertisement reading, “IF IT AIN’T BROKE, BREAK IT.”

Despite a broke economy, a new ad from Obama’s camp pushes back against criticism the president drew over recent statements that “the private sector is doing fine.”



People working from home are certainly doing fine. According to results from a survey by Wakefield Research, employees who telecommute might sneak in side activities from the comforts of their humble abode, but they’re actually more productive than their peers in the office.

Actually, the traditional 9-to-5 might soon be a thing of the past.