When did a draft pick become a PR tactic? For those of you who haven’t seen a football game in your lives, the Atlanta Falcons are in a tid bit of what we in PR would call a “crisis management” situation these days. With superstar quarterback and organization figurehead Michael Vick getting arrested for a multitude of offences (most notably for significantly contributing to illegal dog fighting rings in the southern United States), there is a tid bit of what we in PR would call an “image issue”.
The Falcons had the number three overall pick in this years’ draft, and took what else, a quarterback to get peoples’ minds off of the other, much better quarterback throwing to receiver’s in Cell Block-L instead of the N- F- L.
I’ll pause for a minute while you re-read that humorous last sentence.
Anyway, the Falcons drafted Matt Ryan, the golden boy that everybody loves out of Boston College. Isn’t it amazing the lengths an organization will go to get a better image? ATL gets rid of the “bad boy” Vick, and is like “Hey! Look how wholesome we are NOW! Forget that record breaking superstar, did you see the smile on that new QB? Gee wiz!”
What’s interesting is that they had a shot of getting a more proven, better overall quarterback in Donivan McNab or Daunte Culpepper, or even Steve McNair, but they didn’t trade for their fading contracts. I’m not saying race an issue, but I’m not ruling it out.
A draft pick says a thousand words. So next time the thuggish figurehead at your organization pulls his last straw, simply replace him with an all American white middle class boy, and everyone will think differently of you.
Can't PR seem so ignorant sometimes?
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