Gone are the innocent days when the Miss World contest existed largely to reduce search costs for ageing rock stars seeking future ex-wives. On December 7th this year's winner will be crowned in London-anti-pageant rioting that killed hundreds having prompted a last-minute switch from Nigeria-under a cloud from which the 51-year-old contest to find the world's "most beautiful" woman may never entirely escape. Whatever other lessons may be drawn from this sorry tale, one is clear: it is not easy to succeed as a global brand. Unlike, say, American baseball's decidedly non-global "world series", Miss World's ambitions literally reflect its name. Its website boasts of "a proven brand that's recognised globally", over 2 billion viewers, "phenomenal" web hits and "consistently high-quality" programming. "If you're associated with Miss World 2002, you can be sure of one thing; it will be massively successful for your brand," it promises would-be partners. Well, unless all publicity really is good publicity, that is no sure thing now.
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