PR hell in a Ibiza nightclub

Yesterday I put a link on Twitter to the results of a PR company approaching the wrong blogger with an offer, and unlike most of us, they took up the freebie, and wrote a very funny review of a nightclub event.

The warning is out there – if you are a PR person, check the type of blog before contacting them with offers and details about events as it might backfire on you. Badly.

Hi Ian,

I’m emailing you on behalf of [a once fashionable bottled lager] as I wanted to let you and the readers of Ian Visits know about an exciting opportunity which we are offering Londoners this weekend.

Oh dear, anything described as an exciting opportunity is usually code for really tedious and boring and almost certainly not the sort of thing that even a cursory glance at the blog would suggest to be of any interest to my readers.

On Saturday 23rd July ‘[marketing speak]’ is going to be hitting [some night club], East London; an exciting event designed to recreate the spirit of Ibiza. One lucky London clubber who attends the event will be in with the chance to jet off to the White Isle ‘instantly’ with three friends, with a live prize draw taking place on the night.

Two things, telling me about something on a Tuesday evening that is happing this Saturday is not enough notice to get into my weekly listings guide. You’ve missed the deadline.

Secondly, there are two sides to Ibiza, one is the nightclub hell by the beaches and the other is the really quite beautiful rural interior of the islands. I suspect I know which you are talking about.

To be in with a chance of winning this once-in-a-lifetime trip, party-goers can purchase a bucket of five [cheap lager] bottles, available at the ‘[cheap lager]’ night, and text a unique code which can be found on a luggage tag attached to every bucket of [cheap lager] bottles, to be entered into a prize draw.

No wonder there is a problem with binge drinking today – it is being sold in BUCKETS.

The lucky winner will be announced ‘live’ on the night with flights departing the next day to the sunshine Isle. The holiday includes two nights luxury accommodation in the heart of Ibiza’s clubbing district, transfers and insurance.

Just what a person wants – to wake up after drinking buckets of cheap lager and to have to struggle to an airport for a hangover wrenching flight. I hope the airline staff appreciate the likely biological effects that will have on the prize winners.

The Balearic-inspired event will be headlined by top DJs, and will see performances from break-dancers, ‘glow’ jugglers, percussionists and ‘Ibiza Angels’ at the late night hotspot…. blah blah blah. Please do let me know if you’d like any further information or if you have any queries.

Everything that sounds to me like one of the visions from Dante’s Inferno. My only question is why on earth you thought this would be of any interest to me?

Sorry dear readers if you are the sort of people who dance away to thumping music at 3am lubricated by cheap lager, but I am not going to give this PR person the benefit of the publicity.