I appreciate how hard it is to express through mere words the glorious goodness and sublime complexities of the organizations, products and services being represented by scribes of the public relations profession.
Even so, I have always urged my folks and clients to follow this simple rule: You must be able to draw a picture of what you have written, whether you mean to be literal or figurative. If you can't, then you've communicated something that means something different to different people than what you meant to mean, differently. Your creative hype becomes silly overstatement.
Consider this rule when reading passages from recently distributed company news releases...
- Become a champion toilet shopper with these easy tips. [Link]
- With a legacy of more than 25 years of salad innovation, Wendy's is at it again. [Link]
- Brides-to-Be Get a Leg Up on Wedding Planning... [Link]
- Increasing "smileage" requires increased smile awareness and a measure of self-discipline. [Link]
- ... the heart and soul of the backyard resort area is the concrete patio. [Link]
By that way, there's plenty of chatter as to whether or not the "press release" should even exist in its current form anymore. More on that later. In the meantime, please send me your favorite examples of news announcement flackery. I collect them.
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