Last week we received an email with the subject line "Dumb-ass PR people...." The e-mail's first line read, "...would have used the subject line to tell you what this pitch is
about..." We give the sender kudos for creativity - the email (which, like so many, was promoting some Internet-thingamabob) grabbed our attention.
It also got us thinking. Self-mockery, ironically enough, has been a way for a good many folks to make themselves look better. Al Gore sardonically referred to himself as "not
the most exciting candidate" and went on to win the popular vote (albeit, not the election). And the fact that Rodney Dangerfield "gets no respect," is his very ticket into the
movies.
Recently, this reporter even was handed a pamphlet in the street that said "beware religious fanatics." It was handed out by (you guessed it) a religious fanatic.
But if you're thinking about deploying this most humble of tactics, remember there's a fine line between self-deprecation and self-humiliation. You may remember a certain
Washington Post columnist a few months back who encouraged publicists to tell him their most mortifying tales in exchange for a plug (PRN, Oct. 23). One woman
confessed to her husband leaving her. Another hapless man talked candidly about his weight problem.
Wanna be self-deprecating? OK. But don't be a dumb-ass.