How to turn PR into news
Tom Baker was the real Dr. Who, a good clock radio is one that's tuned to Radio 4, and the kitties will actually get up and march around the room to the strains of "Lilliburlero."* We're fond of the BBC around here. And we'd sort of like to know who was, erm, asleep at the switch over at Broadcasting House when somebody decided there was a news story to be found in a press release:
Airline bans A380 mile-high club
Singapore Airlines has taken the unusual step of publicly asking passengers on its new Airbus A380 plane not to engage in any sexual activities.
And why might that be?
The potential problem has arisen because the first class area of its giant superjumbo contains 12 private suites complete with double beds. (Clearly setting it apart from your ordinary-sized superjumbos.)
Singapore, which is the first airline to start flying the A380, said the suites were not sound-proofed. ... Singapore added that while the suites were private, they were also not completely sealed.
... "All we ask of customers, wherever they are on our aircraft, is to observe standards that don't cause offence to other customers and crew," the airline said in a statement.
Gee! Since "Call your doctor at once if you wake up with any particular attributes of classical statuary lasting more than four hours at a stretch"** seems to be taken, is there some other way we can use the cover of journalism to persuade people to pay attention to our product? I know! We'll get the BBC to remind them that no matter how private those superjumbo first-class cabins seem, some levels of friskiness simply will not do.
Really. The job of the PR professional is to get stuff to the door. The job of the journalist is to read it, nod sagely, and throw it in the rubbish bin. It's called a "BS detector" for a reason: Throw the switch, run it across some stuff, and it beeps when you hit certain palpable, you know, BS levels. Go ahead and change the batteries and try it again. Lord Reith would be so pleased.
* Just kidding. They're cats. They march around the room to whatever they please.
** World Series advertising ain't what it used to be, is it?
Airline bans A380 mile-high club
Singapore Airlines has taken the unusual step of publicly asking passengers on its new Airbus A380 plane not to engage in any sexual activities.
And why might that be?
The potential problem has arisen because the first class area of its giant superjumbo contains 12 private suites complete with double beds. (Clearly setting it apart from your ordinary-sized superjumbos.)
Singapore, which is the first airline to start flying the A380, said the suites were not sound-proofed. ... Singapore added that while the suites were private, they were also not completely sealed.
... "All we ask of customers, wherever they are on our aircraft, is to observe standards that don't cause offence to other customers and crew," the airline said in a statement.
Gee! Since "Call your doctor at once if you wake up with any particular attributes of classical statuary lasting more than four hours at a stretch"** seems to be taken, is there some other way we can use the cover of journalism to persuade people to pay attention to our product? I know! We'll get the BBC to remind them that no matter how private those superjumbo first-class cabins seem, some levels of friskiness simply will not do.
Really. The job of the PR professional is to get stuff to the door. The job of the journalist is to read it, nod sagely, and throw it in the rubbish bin. It's called a "BS detector" for a reason: Throw the switch, run it across some stuff, and it beeps when you hit certain palpable, you know, BS levels. Go ahead and change the batteries and try it again. Lord Reith would be so pleased.
* Just kidding. They're cats. They march around the room to whatever they please.
** World Series advertising ain't what it used to be, is it?
posted by fev at 10:40 PM
2 Comments:
Tom Baker was fine, sure, but William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee! Woooooo!
Must be quite a plane. Since when is the A380 in use? skin
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