October 31, 2007
Two thirds of men have contemplated hitting their wives with a widget
John Kay is on good form this morning on the subject of the psuedo-survey, concocted for PR purposes:
Universal Widgets is not a very interesting company, widgets are not a very interesting product, and Nigel Snooks, the chief executive, is not a very interesting man. But a survey that shows that two-thirds of men have contemplated hitting their wives with a widget will produce many media slots in which Mr Snooks of Universal Widgets can recount the findings.
Here’s Ben Goldacre on a similar subject:
These “cash for bad science” stories add nothing to our understanding of the world, and they do nothing to promote science. They sell products, pay money, misrepresent the very notion of doing research, and sell the idea that scientists are irrelevant boffins engaged in pointless head scratching.
We might try to look into this for More or Less.
Travelodge are currently pursuing a successfull PR/marketing strategy based on quirky research findings - customers sleepwalking, novels left behind etc.
Posted by: botogol | October 31st, 2007 at 1:30 pm | Report this comment