Based on the feedback from last week’s post, one thing appears to be clear: PR people want to be funny and creative but sometimes their clients or bosses won’t let them.
Aaron Perlut, Partner at creative PR firm Elasticity
But does that mean you should suppress that creativity? No. Find an outlet for your talents and build a case study or two that will help convince your client or boss that creative and/or humorous approaches in PR have real merit. I’ve used my Guhmshoo cartoons in this way.
To help PR people do this, I’ve decided to launch something called Humorwire. Think of it as a playground of sorts that allows you to explore, experiment and share your creative talents in the form of writing funny and/or creative press releases.
Interested? Here’s how it works:
Every Friday, I’ll post a new humorous (fake or real) press release on the Newsvetter blog submitted by one of you. To get things started and to set the tone, I’ve lined up some guest contributors who think they’re hot stuff in the funny department (we’ll see).
What’s the point of all this? To encourage PR people to practice and share their creative talents.
Who can submit? Anyone. Send submissions to andrew [at] newsvetter.com.
Can I submit something other than a press release? Maybe. What did you have in mind?
Are these real or fake press releases? Both. Bonus points for those who submit real press releases.
Can they be anonymous? Sure. I realize some of you still want to keep your jobs.
Which ones get published? The funniest and/or most creative ones.
How do you decide which ones are the funniest? I use the Mueller Device invented by Milo Rambaldi.
Any content restrictions? It’s your ass on the line so be careful what you submit. As the Supreme Being, I reserve the right to bury anything offensive and/or downright mean.
Can I pay to force you to publish my press release? Of course not. This isn’t BusinessWire or PRNewswire!
If my submission is picked, do I get a prize? You mean other than getting featured on my non-ranked blog? Perhaps. I’m thinking of creating the “Funniest Flack” award. I’ll see if I can line up some sponsors.
One more thing: Humorwire “disclaims any content contained in these releases.” Follow the guidelines in this disclaimer.
Questions? Leave a comment.
419.730.3040
andrew [at] newsvetter [dot] com
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
You, sir, are a credit to the primate-loving Mr. T lookalike community and shall be ever rejoiced upon in the halls of dwarfism and sausage jugglers.
Carry on.
Even though I am not related to PR in anyway, I am looking forward to it!
Hmm. I’m seeing an opportunity to turn this into a class project. I may limit it to writing creative boilerplate — traditionally the absolute worst part of any news release.
Hmm. Or we could ask people to submit the worst boilerplate ever — or should I be talking to the Bad Pitch Blog about that one?
Cool idea, man. Looking forward to it.