I choose this particular commercial to share with everyone because I saw it on TV and thought it would spark a lot of discussion as to how PR is viewed by society. Are PR practitioners “truth-spinners?” Do we “sugar-coat” problems? Think about these questions as you watch the clip. In my opinion, this is just a funny commercial harmlessly poking fun at PR professionals, but I think there lies a deeper meaning. I think underneath, this commercial is enforcing what society already thinks about those who work in PR. I would love to see your responses!
ABC PR
PR Campaigns - The blog 
I liked the commercial, and also what you had to say about how socity views PR. I think going into the field we will forever be fighting the old stereotypes, as well as making up for the shortcomings of some of our colleagues that give PR agents such a bad rap. Because I think this, I found the commercial, while you viewed it as funny and poking fun, to be a step in the wrong direction. I think that it further perpetuates the stereotypes we battle.
Comment by amyfoley1975 — September 24, 2008 @ 3:44 pm |
This commercial definitely perpetuates the bad reputation that pr agents seem to have. It makes pr agents out to be ‘truth-spinners’ and attempts to define the profession as consisting of telling people what they want to hear, no matter how true or not. This is surely not the type of publicity the profession as a whole will benefit by because it will only further enhance people’s ideas about what pr professionals are meant to do.
Comment by cate415 — September 25, 2008 @ 9:22 am |
I definitely think it was meant to be a light-hearted commercial and I don’t think it’s anything to get really upset over, but it does depict PR professionals in a negative light. It makes it look like PR is all about covering up the truth and spinning it. It makes it seem like PR professionals are around just to kind of cover for other people and make up excuses for the problems that organizations can’t cover on their own. I don’t think I need to go into why this isn’t true though because I think any good PR person knows why these things just simply aren’t true.
Comment by lbridge — September 25, 2008 @ 9:44 am |
I do think in general this is what people think of public relations. It is upsetting that there are bad stereotypes associated with our profession, but it should make us more determined to prove people wrong. We need to always be concerned with the type of impression we are giving to people, because we are not only representing ourselves but the industry as a whole to whoever it is we are interacting with. This does not only mean in business settings, you never know who is watching or when your actions will make it through the grapevine that is PR.
Comment by agilliam — September 25, 2008 @ 9:53 am |
While this commercial pokes fun at PR practitioners, it is also a great advertisement. Although I agree with the idea that many people believe PR is just a way to “spin” the truth and make something negative into something positive, I don’t think this commercial is making those beliefs any more prominent than they already are. It’s not something PR professionals should get upset over, it’s just reality. That’s what people believe and if we’d like to change it, we have to work to prove that PR does more good than people think.
Comment by bkranz — September 28, 2008 @ 11:48 am |
I think this commercial is funny however it does perpetuate the idea that PR professioinals are “truth-spinnters.” Although this perception does have some truth to it. The public would call it sugar-coating but a PR professional would call it good world choice. I also think this commerical reinforces what society already thinks about PR professionals but it is hard to break that stereotype when professionals within our own industry think the same thing. I am constantly getting this whole “holier than thou” thing from print journalists. I get this not only from students but also from print professionals. Until people in our industry see us as ethical equals I do not think the situation will change, no matter what possitive things PR professional do.
Comment by erikanp2004 — September 30, 2008 @ 9:10 am |
As a avid mac-lover this commerical makes me smile. But as a PR major, it just further frustrates me. I am CONSTANTLY getting the question, “what major are you?” When I give my answer, the next question is always, well what are you going to do with THAT? It frustrates me to no end. I really believe the journalists and PR people have a love/hate symbiotic relationship. I feel that you cannot have one without the other and “let the truth speak.” This makes me even doubt what I am doing in this major, at times. It is frustrating to no end, but I know what I want to do, sort of. It just shows me the power of the media and showed how media personifies stereotypes in the mainstream world. I concur that it is probably just meant to be funny and lighthearted but it definitely has some truth to the idea that there is a definite negative connotation between PR and the “art of spin.”
Comment by wackyzachy47 — September 30, 2008 @ 12:31 pm |
I think that a lot of “traditional” PR practitioners do sometimes practice “spinning” and “sugar coating.” That’s why people associate PR with these practices to begin with. But I think that the changing face of PR and the evolution of PR because of new technology will eventually change most of these views because of more accountability. It really is up to us as emerging PR practitioners to change these negative views.
Comment by trentonhorne — September 30, 2008 @ 2:21 pm |