Bras ‘n Beerbellies
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006According to Jerry Della Femina, “Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.” In public relations, you can have fun with clothes that are on or off. 
Consider the media buzz over the weekend when the Mediterranean island of Cyprus earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for “hooking” together the world’s longest chain of women’s bras. News reports of the 114,000 bra chain stretched across the globe as news media as diverse as Fox News and The New York Times filed their datelines from PAPHOS, Cyprus. Designed to raise awareness of breast cancer, the chain consisted of bras donated from around the world, some of them inscribed with emotional messages from both survivors and victims of the disease.
Here in the states, a “stealth beverage system” known as “the Beerbelly” was making headlines and being featured on CNN. Consisting of a polyurethane bladder and sling that you can wear around your waist, the system resembles a natural beer belly when concealed underneath clothing. The owner consumes the liquid contents of the pouch through a tube that can be directed up to be used as a straw, or down to fill a cup.
What makes campaigns such as these successful? One insight is provided by Dan Forbush, president and founder of ProfNet, a service of. PR Newswire which “clears” hundreds of news releases daily. “Read the world as a reporter would,” Forbush advises. “Given your beat and the readers you must satisfy, what topics are of interest? What angles do you find fresh and provocative?” Following this logic, bras and beer obviously command high interest among members of the fourth estate. Our lesson learned: like a brassier, finding the right “hook” can make the difference between a publicity campaign that’s well covered or a bust.