While perusing Gene Ross's site the other day, I noticed that Dennis Hof's 'Moonlite Bunny Ranch' apparently released something that looked and read an awful lot like a press release to announce they were about to issue an actual press release. Digital Playground's Adella O'Neal, as well as other publicity professionals, should be taking note of this. Some gimmick, huh? A press release to announce a press release! Pretty freakin' smooth.

"The Moonlight Bunny Ranch will be issuing a press release later today about an upcoming special on HBO."

Is that slick or what? This way you get two announcements of the same announcement while merely looking like you're only making one announcement!

The Bunny Ranch's pre-press-release, press release is all about an upcoming HBO special about, what else, 'The Moonlite Bunny Ranch.'

"The cable network is scheduling to air 'Cathouse' — a behind-the-scenes look at a house of prostitution — in the highly coveted time slot on Dec. 8, immediately following the last 'Sopranos' episode. HBO installed cameras throughout the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada, to capture life at one of the country's largest brothels, where 200 prostitutes ply their trade."

Throughout the pre-press-release, press release, HBO's hit show, 'The Sopranos' is mentioned 4 times. I'm really not sure what a cable TV series about a fictional New Jersey mob family has to do with a cable TV documentary about a non-fictional Nevada brothel, but again, I think it's some pretty slick press-releasemanship, or should I say, pre-press-releasemanship. Again, I think Adella, Scott Stein, Harry Weiss, and others should take note of this tactic. It's pretty effective. For instance, let's say 'The Tera Show' is going to webcast in a timeslot just after 'The Osbournes' airs on MTV. Adella could write something like this:

"Tonight's 'Tera Show' runs immediately following MTV's hit show, 'The Osbournes.' As usual, the unintentionally comic genius of Ozzie Osbourne will be as unintelligible as the audio feed on 'The Tera Show' which always makes for truly great and entertaining viewing. Be sure to tune your web browser to 'The Tera Show' immediately following 'The Osbournes."

Now there's some free-association, inverted-logic hype that oughta boost Tera's ratings. This press release style of freely associating people and facts is, in my mind, pure genius. Here's another excerpt from the Bunny Ranch's pre-press-release, press release:

"Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura mentions the Bunny Ranch in his autobiography, and a sign outside proudly boasts, "Governor Jesse Ventura Had Sex Here!"

Adella and company--and I don't mean to just pick on Adella here, she's just the most well-known of porn's PR contingent, and so her status serves my writing as an easily identifiable example--anyway, Adella and the rest of them PR people could effectively use this tactic as well. For instance, President George Bush recently made a speech which included some verbage about internet pornography--it was negative verbage, but verbage all the same. Well, 'The Tera Show' is, after all, on the internet--and so was Bush's speech. And 'The Tera's Show's' purpose is to boost pornography, at least the sale of Digital Playground's brand of pornography, so I think a free-association statement could be made in Adella's press releases that includes mention of the President.

How about something like this:

"President George Bush mentioned pornography in a recent national speech and a sign just outside 'The Tera Show' studio boasts, "President Bush Talked About Pornography Here!"

Of course, the "Here!" merely refers to the internet in general of which 'The Tera Show' is a part of, and of which George Bush's speech was carried, but that's the beauty of free-association-- you can freely associate almost anything with anything for free!

"On the HBO drama, Tony Soprano's gangster crew operate from the Bada Bing strip club in New Jersey, which serves as a cover for their crime syndicate, and that includes illegal prostitution."

This statement is beyond genius. Do you see what they've done here? Simply because the Soprano crime family makes some small part of their earnings from prostitution, there's an automatic connection between this HBO hit show, and the 'Moonlite Bunny Ranch' and therefore, the documentary about the 'Moonlite Bunny Ranch.' What's better than that?

I don't know who writes Dennis Hof's pre-press-relases, but my hat is off to you whoever you are.

Now if Mr. Hof would only do something about that really cheap, cheesy sign and chain link fence at the front of the ranch. Come one, Dennis! You can afford something classier than that.





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