25 April 2007

Sounds good to me...oh no, sorry, it doesn't...

Seen PR Darlings? A couple of people have brought it to our attention...one who said:

"Flyers were being given out at some talk that I was at the other day by a 9ft tall man who whispered conspiratorially to me ‘you in PR?’ then passed me the flyer like it was a fake passport in a POW camp."

Sounds like our sort of thing. But then on visiting the site it very much sounds not like our kind of thing. Here's the spiel:

"PR Darlings is where business meets pleasure. It isn’t about career networking. There are loads of places online and offline where you can do that. It’s about being able to socialise with people with whom you already have much in common. People in public relations are known to be creative, intelligent, on the pulse, attractive and most of all, fun.

"Why wouldn’t you want to hang out with them?

"PR Darlings is about making new friends, learning about people’s lives outside of work, going for a kick about, not taking your job so seriously, telling funny stories, laughing, banter and expanding your circle."


Not exactly sure I like the sound of expanding my circle...reminds me of my time doing porridge. I could have misunderstood, of course, but the next line makes me think otherwise:

"PR Darlings encourages you to put tongues in cheeks – yours, and if you fancy, someone else’s."

Honestly, that's what it says.

I dunno, might be just what the industry is looking for. You check it out and make your own minds up...and let us know, won't you?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That makes me feel a little ill.

Anonymous said...

I too was accosted by Al Murray at the PR Unspun event last night. You couldn't miss them with their horrible ill fitting faded print T-shirts unervingly loitoring around and propping up the bar. Just in case we didn't notice him he shouted out his question to the panel from the back of the room. Despite feeling horribly uncomfortable in their presence i think it's a good idea. We only really meet other PR folk at networking events, trying to exploit each other and it might be good fun to meet up with like minded people. Also, most people, like myself have come to London to work so it's never a bad idea to find someone else to watch the football with.

I'm gonna go and seewhat it's like and I'll let you know if it's crap

Anonymous said...

I was at that very event (unless they are mass-marketing it at every pub in Soho).

Comically they had a very convincing Al Murray lookalike to promote them?

Anonymous said...

dunno about people in PR being 'attractive' - I've met some right odd-balls over the years. Some of them would have been better off working as Star Wars characters.....

Anonymous said...

No offence, but aren't we already renowned for our ability to socialise and snog one another freely... why do we need to 2.0 everything??

The only value I can see in this is as another recruitment method (well... might solve the current AM/AD shortage)!

Anonymous said...

Leaving aside Al Murray comments (surely not intentional) and my reservations about their choice of name, which I doubt will endear the site to industry professionals, it's an interesting idea.

Especially in larger agencies, junior staff are already using social networking sites like Facebook to communicate within the organisation. If a tool exists to facilitate that while providing value-added services specifically for PROs, I can see a business model. Of course, it needs members, which may well be where this venture grinds to a halt.

I have always felt that PR has been on the backfoot when it comes to web 2.0. It's good to see an attempt (albeit unproven) to tackle that.

Anonymous said...

i saw him, he was as tall as a massive ballbag and had big full Ham Fists. If we are prdarlings he is a massive football fan who chews mens faces. He started the stereotypes...

Anonymous said...

re the comments on the name "PR darlings".

Are you actually *admitting* that you don't get the irony?

The point of the site, as Neville Hobson rightly points out, is "sheer irreverence".

If anyone is offended by / doesn't get the name / thinks that it's promoting stereotypes, it suggests that either they may not have a sense of humour, or could be a bit dumb.

Take life a little less seriously.

Anonymous said...

http://www.prdarlings.com/poll.php

looks like the poll results have rocketed to a massive 13 respondents

Anonymous said...

Christ on a bike - what a hideous idea! I spend all day surrounded by PR types, why would I want to seek out and meet even more?!

My personal feelings aside the site could do with more development, perhaps to include a truer categorization of individuals:

- People that use too much management speak
- Consumer types that think surveys and advertorials are the pinnacle of campaign ingenuity
- American PRs that worship process and conference calls

Any more for any more?

Anonymous said...

It's just another website that us PROs can waste time contributing to when we should be doing the day job.

Mind you, after only ever putting my tongue in two fellow PR people's cheeks (poor return for 13 years in the job I reckon) it might be worth a shot.

I'll just touch up the headshot in Photoshop, Associate in the job title only gets you so far these days...

Anonymous said...

Sod off.

Go and consume some fruit based drink.

Is your dad proud of you, son?

You DISGUST me!

Anonymous said...

Well, either the abuse or the traffic has driven the site "underground".
Shame, always nice to have something to make one feel superior..! :-)