Practice Assignment - Pitch Letter

For a homework assignment, we were asked to write a pitch letter. I chose to write about how my tire company Travers Tires was donating large tires to Japanese Tsunami relief efforts. I figured that charity would generate hype for the company, and it is a story that deserves to be published because of the good intentions of a local company.

Here it is:

03-21-2011

Mr. Anthony Bratton
Features Editor
The Boston Globe
Boston, MA 02134

Dear Mr. Bratton,

With the death toll in Japan rising everyday, Americans are left wondering what they can do to help the Japanese recover from this disaster. Local company Travers Tires of Bristol, RI has set out to do their part.

75 Japanese rescue vehicles are now more equipped to help out.

Red Cross search and rescue has had a shortage of vehicles capable of driving over all the rubble left by the earthquake and tsunami. Travers Tires has decided to donate 300 of their largest XZL900 tires, usually used for agriculture and military, to be put on rescue cars. These tires are approximately 36.5” tall and feature deep grooves for gripping support off-roads.

We think that this local donation will inspire others to help out and will make a great story for your international news section.

I’ll be in touch soon.

Sincerely,

Lacey Cumming

Wag the Dog Movie Questions+

**questions assigned to answer after watching the movie Wag the Dog in class**

1. The key messages that the crisis counselor wants the public to know are that there is a suitcase bomb in Canada that Albanians are secretly trying to smuggle into the United States. The crisis counselor also wants the publics to see the staged footage from Albania.
2. The primary target audience is people voting for any party in the upcoming election. The secondary audience is all people living in the United States.
3. The motive behind this message is to take attention away from the sex scandal that the president is accused of being involved in.
4. The producer uses a newsbreak special report to show the fake recording of the Albanian girl. Another format is the song that Willie Nelson sings about American spirit. This is also shown on TV and uses a well-known icon to get attention.
5. The producer makes the message believable by embellishing the video. The use of a girl that viewers would pity, along with a kitten, a burning village and screaming sounds will generate attention. Another way they made it believable was by saying that the girl had family in Canada.
6. The president and other people representing his party benefit from the message.
7. Fact checking was a big missing part of the message. There are no nuclear devices in Albania and they are not in a time of war. The producers of the message also did not say where the footage came from.
8. No I do not agree with the message. It is untruthful and unethical.
9. This message can be verified as accurate by contacting Albania or fact checking. Finding the source of the video would also help verify it.
10. The PR technique deployed in the movie was unethical, they committed fraud and producing such a video could threaten the lives of Americans and even national security.