I have never made a secret of my love for Jim Henson’s Muppet characters.  Outside of Superman, they are, as a collective group, my favorite fictional friends.  What makes them so lovable is how distinct and unique their personalities are.

Other people with distinct and unique personalities are public relations professionals!  (Yes, I am comparing us to Muppets.)  Take a look at the following descriptions and see which sort of Muppet you are as a PR Pro!

Fozzie Bear

Fozzie’s claim to fame is his sense of humor!  He is an absolute charmer, always ready with a quick joke or a “Wocka Wocka Wocka” to lighten the mood in tense situations.  The jokes are tired and corny, and perhaps not even all that funny, but they serve their purpose.

Every PR team needs a Fozzie, an ice-breaking, fearless person who isn’t afraid of the rotten tomatos coming his way.  Or just backlash from a bad move.  Same difference.

Kermit The Frog

Ahh, the tortured leader of the pack.  Mr. The Frog has a lot in common with PR pros.  He has put his career at the front of his life, even sacrificing quality time with his beloved (Ms. Piggy of course!  See below!).

But it’s not all bad for the ol’ amphibian.  His face and name are everywhere.  He’s the most trustworthy Muppet of them all, ready to make the tough decisions, putting the group ahead of his own personal goals.  Sometimes, he gets roped into doing things he would much rather not do, but he’s OK with because he doesn’t see himself has better than any other Muppet.  It’s not easy being the leader (or green, for that matter)

From time to time, in quiet moments, he breaks out into song.  And really, who doesn’t?

ANIMAL!

Some publicists are controlled and measured (and speak in coherent sentences), dressed in normal, professional clothing.  And well, take the opposite of that and you’ve got ANIMAL!  The frenetic musician speaks through his drumming.

Appropriately, he marches to his own drumbeat, expressing himself in his clothing, speaking style, hair style, etc.  Everyone remembers Animal, and not always for the right reasons.  He can make himself the story instead of his client.  (A minor destructive streak hurts him, as well)

But there is no doubt, he knows who he is and will do ANYTHING to get the job done.  And you gotta admire his musical chops:

Miss Piggy

The social butterfly!  The first name on every guest list!  The life of the party!  The maven of fabulousness!

Miss Piggy attends every top-tier function.  Every knows who her name and is marveled by her beauty.  Her reputation as a diva definitely precedes her.

Nobody is entirely sure what she does or how she makes a living, but she is always the center of attention, dressed to the nines, pretending her boyfriend (Kermit, see above) doesn’t exist and basking in her self-appointed glory.

Beaker

It’s really hard when other people don’t speak your language!  You can be the most brilliant person in the world, but if people can’t understand you, you are belittled.  Like our “meep-meeping” buddy, you have to figure out a way to overcome communications obstacles internally and with clients.

Gonzo

Sometimes, you feel like your ideas come from outer space, no?  Everyone on your team wants to go one way and you believe deep-down with all your being that they should do something else.  It’s hard to speak your mind on a controversial topic.  It’s even harder when you look different from everybody else.

But Gonzo plows through those challenges.  He may have extra-terrestrial origins, but he stands up for what he believes in at all times.

His social life is quite odd (I mean, he hangs out with chickens!), but he comes to work every day and does quality work.  His coworkers don’t quite understand him as a person, but he gets the job done.

And despite his limitations, Gonzo has somehow emerged as an “Ari Gold” figure, wheeling, dealing and getting stuff done as manager of the group.  Go Gonzo, ya strange weird-looking publicist, you!

Elmo

Is it your first day on the job?  Do you get EXCITED about drafting a press release?  Do you tingle when you make follow-up calls?  Are you pumped to update a media list?

Congratulations, my young, wide-eyed friend, you’re Elmo!

Every part of PR is a new adventure.  You’re as happy and optimistic as it gets.  No big crisis has tainted your untarnished view of others.  The world is your oyster, but you’ve never actually had an oyster, so you are just going with the flow.

You are so thrilled to be part of the PR world that, like Kermit, you tend to break out in song!

The Count

Some publicists deal with what COULD be.  Some publicists make things up.  But not this fella, HA HA HA.

The Count deals with cold, hard facts.  You can’t argue numbers, HA HA HA.

However, you can get creative and CHANGE the numbers (perhaps using Cookie Monster to hide certain evidence?), of course, HA HA HA.

In continuing with the trend of strange character traits, this guy also laughs in random, creepy ways HA HA HA.

No the most creative of folks, but the truth it always your best friend in PR (assuming it won’t hurt you, HA HA HA)

So where do you fit in here?  I think I WISH I was Animal, but fall more into a Kermit/Gonzo role.

Any Muppet-Publicists I left out?

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