The PRCA this week banned PRWeek from entering its annual charity
pub quiz organised by under 30s arm the FrontLine Committee.
'It's for consultancies only - you can't enter,' insisted events
director Gail Bratchpiece, of the gathering, which was attended by more
than 150 PROs from over 25 firms.
Undeterred, Diary fulfilled its duty by showing up at Sound in Leicester
Square for the fun-filled 1970s-themed evening.
The quiz comprised seven rounds of increasingly tough questions on
categories as diverse as PR news and the history of sport (the exact
relevance of the latter was lost on some observers).
The UK's finest young PR maestros battled it out for the first prize of
a £250 dinner for four at either Sugar Reef or sister restaurant
Tiger Tiger.
After four rounds, three teams emerged as potential winners - VLP,
Clareville Consultancy and Key Communications. As it turned out, the
trio were in contention until the final round, when they filled two of
the three podium positions.
Amid high drama, Clareville and Nexus Communications were announced as
tied winners, with VLP in a lowly third.
After what one witness described as a 'knife-edge recount,' it was
announced that Clareville had won the tie, but still only came second.
The VLP team, led by MD John Levick, thanks to a last-minute comeback,
had triumphed.
'It was especially sweet because we lost by just one point last year,' a
most certainly over 30 VLP source said. 'As we leapt from third to first
we could scarcely believe our luck'.
It wasn't all plain sailing, though - the PRCA faced bitter allegations
of fix 'n' sleaze, since the prize for best-dressed team went to
Hallmark PR, the agency based in Winchester and run by ... PRCA chairman
Tom Watson.
Pure coincidence, surely?
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