What to do, and what NOT to do, in Public Relations

Here's a new gimmick for Strategic Public Relations: Are you Goofus or Gallant?

For those of you that do not get the obscure reference to Goofus and Gallant, I suggest you subscribe to Highlights magazine. Goofus shows us what not to do while Gallant shows us what we should do. As current events present themselves, I will point to examples of what we should, and should not, do in public relations.

Take hitching your product to a popular song. Outkast offers Polaroid some easy, slam-dunk publicity as it sweeps up Grammys left and right. Polaroid is Gallant to an unknown consumer product company’s Goofus.

This personal care product company wanted to use one of Johnny Cash’s signature tunes, Ring of Fire to promote its hemorrhoid-relief products. Oh the humanity. Thankfully, the Man in Black's estate is taking issue with this.

So are you Goofus or Gallant?