The latest Nando's saga is a bit like the old fable of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf...' there are those that believe Nando's orchestrated the entire viral sms campaign with religious overtones and that the subsequent denials are part of a targeted PR campaign! Some blogspots have even accused the media of playing right into Nando's plans by publishing the story and subsequent denials. Well, Nando's seems to be getting quite desperate with its denials - going as far as to hold a press conference with the South African Council of Churches to deny the claims and put the issue to rest. I know the old adage that any publicity is good publicity is still trotted out by some, but in this case one wonders how much damage has actually been done to the Nando's brand by these anonymous allegations of this fake sms campaign. It is a family fast food outlet and South Africa is still quite a moral, Calvinist society with strong religious beliefs. This is one campaign that the fast food brand - known for its contentious and benchmarking advertising in the past - may take some time to bounce back from. It is a pity that any brand should fall prey to individuals with malicious intent. Have a good one! Louise Marsland, Editor, editor@biz-community.com