As a spokesperson, even the slightest faux pas could become
grist for a magazine "List." The April issue of Business 2.0 took a
stab at PR with its feature, "101 Dumbest Moments in Business."
Some examples:
No.12/Winner, Dumbest Moment, Public Relations:
"If you consume more than one seat, you will be charged for more
than one seat."
--Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Beth Harbin, explaining the
company's policy requiring "persons of size" to pay double the
normal fare
File these other cases under: What Were The PR Folks
Thinking?
No.24/ To promote the release of its videogame "Shadow Man:
Second Coming," the London office of Acclaim Entertainment seeks
volunteers who'll allow the company to put ads on the headstones of
deceased relatives. Explains an Acclaim spokesperson: "It's a dark,
gory type of game, and we thought it was appropriate to raise
advertising to a new level."
No. 36/ "We look at this as something to heighten the hearts of
Enron employees who are losing their jobs."
--Playboy spokeswoman Elizabeth Norris, commenting on the
magazine's "Women of Enron" issue
No. 81/Corporate earnings reports: now 100% accurate
The board of Silicon Valley software firm HPL Technologies fires
its CEO, Y. David Lepejian, in July, after it discovers that he was
responsible for faking sales figures. The company admits that an
impressive $11 million of the $13.7 million in revenues reported in
the second quarter of 2002 was entirely fictitious. HPL stock
tumbles 72% on the day the fraud is announced.
*Minus about 80%