The PR Wall of Shame

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to make fun of bad PR anymore, but, hey, I lied. I can't help it. I just got one in that was an eye-popper. To think that somebody actually was paid to write this! The quest for higher signal speed and density in backplane applications has resulted in the new [name withheld] connector from [perpetrator's name withheld]. Building on its highly successful portfolio of high speed backplane connectors which includes the [product nomenclature withheld] product lines, [perpetrator] has introduced the [name withheld] connector as a cost-effective interconnect for backplane applications where high speed, high density and high performance are needed. "In listening to our customers we heard the need for a cost effective high-speed product and quickly focused significant resources in responding to that need. The result of that effort is the [name withheld] product line," states [bad pr writer putting words in product manager's mouth]. "One of our goals is to offer a portfolio of products which provides our customers with options and gives them the flexibility to meet their requirements." Did this say anything at all? No, of course not. Here's what it said, really. We can't figure out what the engineers have built so we are going to throw marketing schtick at it until something sticks. We can't go wrong with Motherhood. Come on, folks. Our readers deserve better. I may not, because I asked to do this job, but the people that read this magazine depend on our vendors' PR people to give them real information, not this kind of slop! Walt