BP – beyond publicrelations

The PR hero of this Gulf Oil disaster is the person behind the faux public relations Twitter feed @BPGlobalPR. Advertising Age interviewed the still-anonymous voice behind the joke/satire/spoof/lament feed at AdAge.com.

”I'd love it if more journalists delved into why companies say what they say rather than simply presenting what they say,” writes @BPGlobalPR. That’s a profound declaration in line with the practice of Public Relations in the 21st century.

I’m reminded about the already decade-old Cluetrain Manifesto. (http://cluetrain.com): Thesis #16: Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.

In the wake of BP’s official PR double-speak, obfuscation and half-truth, the public is not listening, but crying... and laughing to deal with the pain.

Graphic artists have been invited into the fray with a “new logo” contest for BP.  (Logo above is by "mconner74.")

The underground is right. Just fix the pipe, and clean up the mess. It will take years and cost BP billions.

Then consider: should we all buy BP gas to finance the cleanup?

Ban these words from your PR...

I found this blog post from Robin Wauters irresistible: “10 words I would love to see banned from press releases.”

You can probably guess what they are. A change in the public relations industry is upon us. Over-saturated writers and editors are busting every hyperbole they spot, so anyone seriously interested in coverage had better deliver the goods.

Journalists, editors, producers and bloggers insist, so publicists must show them.

As a committed subscriber to The Cluetrain Manifesto , I continually remind myself that the world is crying out for authentic conversation, human-to-human interaction, truth (or in the absence of truth, at the very least, honest discussion).

There is no substitute.