Peter Shankman, His Book ‘Can We Do That’, and More Hype
There is a PR agency in San Francisco called Hype House. Your first reaction is “old my god,” people who just come right out and say what they do is hype stuff to the media. But when you read what they are all about, they aren’t about Hype at all. They are just hyping themselves for attention.
I’ll admit first off that we might be called dinosaur PR, as in oh crap, we’ll soon be extinct while the youth of PR rule the world.
My wife, who works at the local library picked up a copy of Shankman’s book with the subtitle, “Outrageous PR Stunts That Work — and Why Your Company Needs Them.”
He sets the stage with this acknowledgment … “finally, mom and dad, thanks for …. wow, I don’t know where to start. It would Double the size of this book….” Is this guy seven years old is or this just hip-hype?
The first chapter tells you “who I am and why you should listen to me.” More hip-hype. He basically says he’s a PR genius. That he knows what works and that since the media in New York City listen to him because of a big PR stunt he pulled a few years ago you should, too. My take away message was that that NY media are a bunch of lapdogs who call Peter Shankman whenever they need anything. Reminds me of Sally Fields’ infamous Oscar acceptance speech, “You love me, you really love me.”
In the pages that follow, he demonstrates that he is understands the PR basics. He’s a journeyman, no doubt. The book is packed with good information. It just isn’t that fresh. I’m not criticizing him or his agency for their creative achievements. But in spite of all the exclamation points and hip hype, he lays down a million rules in the book — many of which seemed aimed at the beginning pr practitioner. Most actual PR people learned this stuff in college PR101.
So much of his advice is information we’ve all heard a gazillion times before. But I give him credit for wrapping it in non-stop hype and hyperbole, trying to make hot dogs and chips smell and taste like Chateaubriand. Afterall, how many books have I published (none) and who am i to judge? Well, 7 years as a newspaper reporter and 25 years in the business has given me at least a working knowledge.
Okay, Peter, if you read this, don’t take it personally. Just go to the zoo, chill out and be that “inner child” you say we should all be to achieve creative greatness. Better yet, read David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rule of Marketing and PR” if you really want something different and fresh.
I don’t know, maybe we really are pr dinosaurs and extinction is near.