Opposite day

Okay, how not to PR today. The old "take what you are supporting, and just call it the opposite of what it actually is" ploy. Most commonly seen today in the practice of "greenwashing," or calling something green that isn't really.

Today's exhibit, "clean coal."

Yes, coal is vitally important to our economy. Yes, it is much cleaner that it used to be.

But this - http://www.americaspower.org/Carolers - is just ridiculous and embarrassing. This is the type of thing that makes me be ashamed of public relations.

The local coal-burning power plant is always the biggest emitter of mercury in the county -- and, in the grand scheme of things, it does not have any competition, and the mercury it emits is a pretty small amount. But nevertheless, it is emitting it. It is not clean.

We're way past the days of "healthy cigarettes," but clearly, the PR technique of calling something it is not is here for the long term.