Tuesday, May 27, 2014

4 Films for the PR Pro

The summer is a great time to catch up on your long list of movies, TV shows, and books you've been dying to check out. Aside from blockbusters like Godzilla and the latest X-Men movie, make sure you add in these flicks for the PR pro!
  • All The President's Men (1976): Imagine young Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as the two journalists you're reaching out to for a story. All The President's Men follows these two as they investigate a few suspicions about the Watergate scandal. Completely from the prospective of the media, you can see just how involved a journalist can get to make a difference. Not to mention, the reality of crisis management.
  • Jerry Maguire (1996):  Though there are many things you can take from this sports/Rom-Com/ drama-type film, who knew PR tips were just another addition! Jerry Maguire is faced with the conflict of his morality and the work his agency requests of him. After speaking up and being fired, Jerry must prove himself to all this previous clients and ultimately wants to start his own agency.
  • Thank You For Smoking (2005): PR work is a bit different when your client/product is, well, deadly. Nick Naylor is a tobacco lobbyist, trying to get anybody and everybody to buy cigarettes.Through lots of campaigning, television ads, and teamwork with other lobbyists (for firearms and alcohol), Thank You For Smoking depicts an extreme use of argumentation.
 
  • This Is Spinal Tap (1984): Though the entire film is not much to a PR pro, there is one character we can all take a look at: Bobbi Flekman. As the artist relations pro and promoter in the film, Flekman handles the publicity for all of the bands at the label. The publicist is seen as a liar and cheater, but it's a great example of how the public relations team really does know how to gauge what the public wants better than, say, a rockstar.

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