Second place is the first loser...

...which in this case might not be a bad thing.

This week saw the annoucnement of the second annual "Worst EU Lobby Awards" in, appropriately, Brussels (appropriate for Christmas that is!). In first place came ExxonMobil, for "continuing to fund virulent climate-change skeptics wielding non-scientific arguments despite vehement criticism of its behavior in the United States and Europe." Naughty people.

In second place, you'll be delighted to hear, was dear old Weber Shandwick, for "setting up a front group to advance the interests of pharmaceutical giant Roche while pretending to work for better access for cancer care" which, personally, I think should've won hands-down.

Amusingly, Weber's UK homepage carries the following quote from its worldwide Chief Reputation Strategist Leslie Gaines-Ross:

"The last decade has seen many of the world’s most admired companies descend from their once lofty positions. They were in a class by themselves – corporate reputation royalty whose invincibility was universally accepted by business executives around the globe. No one could have predicted that these companies would ever part with their crowns..."

...and then they started working with Weber Shandwick!

Better luck next year, eh?