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PR Week - July 31, 2000

Flacks allow public to give them - and you - a whacking.

We can't imagine anybody ever getting irritated at a PR pro about anything (y'all are such a pleasant lot). But should we ever feel the urge to vent, we'll point our browsers to one of the more creative time-killers we've discovered in recent weeks: www.whackaflack.com.

The site, developed by e-tractions and hyped by Sterling Hager, gives visitors the chance to take out their aggression on several PR types (including "Ginny Tonnik", who is "in around lunch, having schmoozed with the beautiful people at last night's opening" and "Hardy Knox" who "remembers the days before faxes and Fed-Ex"). It also asks users to identify the worst offenders from a list of 20 hi-tech agencies (including Sterling Hager) in terms of being "rude," "paranoid" or "never return[ing] calls."

According to AE Parry Headrick, Sterling Hager chose to incorporate specific agencies (none of whom were notified ahead of time) to make the game "more infectious and purposeful. It's not done in a malicious way - we've included ourselves."

e-tractions and Sterling Hager will, however, monitor which firms are "whacked" most often. Given that users must enter their e-mail address, gender and profession (writer, editor, slacker, etc.) in order to play, the site will obviously allow for moderately detailed compiling of demographic information.

Who will achieve the distinction of "most-whacked hi-tech shop"? Stay tuned.