Don't kill Bambi!

It’s hard to clarify the bleedin’ obvious, but, alas, it’s a common request from Bad PR.

Just had an irritating e-mail exchange with a PR guy. He has a client that could be relevant to a feature I’m writing and so I sent him a brief request. You know, a couple of lines outlining my focus area and would he have a senior spokesperson from client X to give his views?

So far, so good. An excellent example of journo and PR pulling in the same direction and enough to conjure up images of a Walt Disney epic from the 1940s. Happy and smiling people, arm-in-arm, skating across the ice; Bambi making its first faltering steps; and birds chirruping in the forest. Maybe there’s no need to write blogs for this site after all.

Then the PR goes and spoils it all by asking could I clarify what I’m after so “we can make sure we line you up with the right person”. I’m sorry, mate, but you have just squashed poor Bambi flat with your clunking e-mail boot and frightened off those chirruping birds.

What is there to clarify?? I simply repeated what I said in the first place, which, although brief, contained all the salient points. Bad PR, please desist from over-complicating and appearing busy just for the sake of it.

An over-reaction on my part? Tell that to Bambi.