Tactfully Tacky
Friday, March 24th, 2006
“That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet,” unless the rose is part of a wrist corsage made from “duct tape.” It’s almost that time of year again when couples across the country will head to their high school proms “ducted” out in formal wear bearing the Duck Tape label. Since 2001, nearly 2,000 couples have “promenaded” in attire made from duct tape.
In the world of guerilla PR, duct tape is “the stuff dreams are made of.” The annual “Stuck at Prom” scholarship contest is 
just one of many headline grabbing ideas involving novel uses of duct tape. Every Father’s Day weekend, a lucky dad is crowned “Duct Tape Dad of the Year” during the “Duct Tape Festival” hosted in the “Duct Tape Capital” of the world (Avon, Ohio). You may want to visit the virtual “Duck Tape Hall of Fame,” or accessorize your wardrobe with items such as wallets, purses, hats, ties and sneakers – all constructed from duct tape.
News accounts have credited duct tape with everything from curing warts to helping save the astronauts in Apollo 13. The sticky stuff 
made front page news in 2003 when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged Americans to prepare for a chemical or biological attack by stocking up on duct tape (a feat indeed worthy of The Professional Flack Hall of Fame). And when the product was snubbed by Forbes.com in its list of the “20 Most Important Tools of All Times,” the public outcry resulted in a follow-up article headlined: “The Other Greatest Tool Ever.”
Even Bozell got into the act when it featured duct tape in a popular poster touting public libraries as the place to find “Everything You Wanted To Know. And More.”
But then there are those who would simply argue, “If duct tape isn’t the answer, then you must be asking the wrong question!”