4 PR lessons from ‘Saved by the Bell’
Remember the seminal half-hour comedy from the early ’90s? Turns out Zack Morris, Screech, Kelly, and the gang knew a thing or two about PR, sort of.
I was a fan back in the ’90s. I spent way too much of my college career soaking in Tiffani Amber-Thiessen and Lark Voorhies.
The show was very campy, but it did tackle tough issues from time to time.
Remember the episode when Jessie took the speed to stay up all night so she could study? What about the episode in which Zack made the fake IDs to impress a girl? OK, so maybe that’s not a hard-hitting issue, but the show did have some teeth, right?
Fine, maybe not.
The show did teach us something else: A number of PR lessons.
That’s right: PR lessons. Bear with me.
1. Persistence doesn’t always pay off.
How many times did Screech proposition Lisa? The number is probably north of 500.
How many times did Lisa say no? Probably a similar number.
Yet, Screech never gave up. He looked for new angles, tried different approaches. Unfortunately, Screech didn’t end up with Lisa.
The lessons?
Persistence doesn’t always pay off. In PR, that means badgering a reporter won’t necessarily get you the placement. In many instances, you need to work smarter— not harder.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
