Storm in a tea cup over survey

Iain Murray is to be congratulated on his appointment to the presidency of the society for Gathering Useless Facts and Figures (MW December 6, 2001). A man with his ability to churn out guff deserves our support.

I wish I could say he was entering a new era in taking a swipe at the PR industry’s love of surveys, but we’ve read this kind of thing before. However, I am delighted he feels enlightened about the strategic nature of the modern PR survey as a result of my company’s ad in the Spectator. I am also, of course, hand-wringingly grateful that he, like so many of his colleagues from the national press, found tea drinking by young women in modern offices worthy of comment as a result of my company’s work.

The bright brains (Mr Murray’s description) behind the tea survey also dreamed up 1999’s award-winning “science of dunking” campaign, which propelled the brown, wholemeal digestive onto news pages and TV screens.

Hiring a physicist to crack the scientific formula for the perfect dunk – one that wouldn’t leave soggy biscuit in your cup – made for a great media story. Oops, we did it again.

Bill Jones

Chief executive

Lexis Public Relations

London W1