Karl has had it by the superlatives offered up by PR managers.

Karl has had it by the superlatives offered up by PR managers. He reminds us to delete the adjectives for the facts.

In Harper Lee’s best-selling book To Kill A Mockingbird, there’s a great line. The story, if you haven’t read it yet (you uncultured so-and-so), is set from the perspective of a young girl who’s more tom-boy than feminine. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer, and is extremely pragmatic. The young girl, known as Scout, relates this sage piece of advice: “Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.”

It applies in just about every area of life, and it’s worth putting to use even when you’re talking to people. When someone relates a story, it’s always their version of the events. Strip away the adjectives and what you’re left with is the reality.

As a motoring journalist, though, that line has particular meaning. Our inboxes get filled day-after-day with press releases touting how great the latest addition to a range is, or how fantastic the extras are now that they’re included instead of being options. So, our language skills are put to the test, reading between the lines, determining what the PR spin is, and what the facts are. Or what the false claims are.

You see, Lexus put out a media alert for its gorgeous new RC F Coupe, a sports car that’s said to rival the M3. While that particular point may be up for debate, what’s not is the wording used in the press release. Originally it was published online with the line: “World-first use of Torque Vectoring Differential in a front-engine, rear-drive sports vehicle provides enhanced control.”  Unfortunately for Lexus, the Jaguar F-Type and HSV GTS were first. The press release was quickly edited.

A press release for the Honda CR-V diesel came out the other day. The first few words included the phrase “the much-anticipated.” A few lines down it quotes Honda’s local director as saying, “We are confident that the addition of the diesel variant will further strengthen the CR-V’s offering.” Well, if it really was much-anticipated, there’d be no need for confidence. It should sell its socks off. Also, if the new addition didn’t further strengthen the CR-V’s offering, then there’s something seriously wrong – more options provide more chances for sales. The line is a meaningless filler, a self-serving quote with the hope of getting Honda’s director in print. Sorry Honda, we can see straight through it.

BMW isn’t much better. The 2 Series press release is full of rubbish. Raise the bar, innovative technology, incredible dynamic talent, stunning good looks, generous specification, impressive fuel economy – it’s all quite over-the-top and a bit irritating. Rather than trying to convince us of how good it is, just build a damn good car. Of course, I’m ragging on the press release, not the car. If the car is actually good, we’ll tell you (I’ll let you in on something – I’m secretly hoping it is very good).

It’s a shame that PR managers need to offer us all the superlatives they can conjure up in the hope we’ll swallow the bait and repurpose the press release. Some news for them – we won’t. What we will do is read through those press kits and delete the adjectives. It’s a technique every kid learns in school – comprehension. I wish these PR people would comprehend that.