Should Public Relations have a Hippocratic Oath?

“Oh, so you make the bad guys look good”.

That’s a variation of the response you hear when people find out that you work in public relations. Just like advertising and marketing, PR has been the target of a deluge of criticism. And a lot of this critique leveled at what many see as a ‘spin industry’, is often hard to refute and even harder to ignore.

However, PR is much more than ‘spin’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to argue that we save puppies from burning buildings. Still, it’s not just the ‘bad guys’ that seek out PR agencies for help. The world that PR professionals operate in, is far more complex.

In my time in PR, I’ve helped a host of brands share their stories and passions in a more impactful and meaningful way. From a science center looking to connect with a new generation of discoverers to a city trying to jostle for attention while shedding its suburban past, PR can work wonders in igniting the public’s imagination and capturing their interest and attention. And sometimes we’re also there to dispel myths and set the public record straight.

Most PR professionals have that one client that they’d rather not represent. The unspoken rule in many PR agencies is that refusing to work with a client/account equates to career suicide. So, the advice that most are given is to bite the bullet and get on with it…

However, for public relations to continue to attract the best and brightest, we need to start rethinking and challenging this unspoken rule. I’ve had the privilege and good fortune of working with up-and-comers in the PR industry, some fresh graduates and mid-career professionals and others far more seasoned in their careers but entering the PR industry at a later stage in their lives.

My experience tells me that young and older generations alike will not settle with the ‘get on with it’ mentality. And why should they? Most PR professionals are naturally inclined to think in terms of their own brand personas (after all, they are experts in protecting and evolving the brands of their clients). And when the clients they represent don’t sit well with their ethical compass, it’s fair to say that their passion for the job (and for the sector) will sooner or later fizzle out.

That’s why we need a Hippocratic Oath for PR. Just as Hippocrates (a Greek physician widely considered as the “Father of Medicine”) helped turn medicine into a more trusted profession, at a time when many had their doubts about the work of doctors, perhaps PR could benefit from a shared code of ethics. An oath that spells out the obligations and behaviors that PR professionals should have to both their clients and society, at large. And something that goes beyond blacklisting specific sectors.

We should be encouraging our fellow PR specialists to challenge clients to act and think beyond the lazy approach of offering a communications ‘band-aid’ that covers up harmful practices, operations or policies. So rather than suggest tactics that greenwash a client’s regressive environmental policies, we could help clients build a strong internal case for how environmentally friendly initiatives can help their bottom line while reducing their carbon footprint. It’s precisely by pivoting the conversation in these ways, that PR can play a role in convincing brands to move beyond ‘smoke and mirrors’ and instead take a harder look in the mirror.  

I’d love to hear what your experience has been in the PR and communications sector. And what from your perspective, would a Hippocratic Oath for the PR sector look like.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are strictly my own and do not represent my current or former employers, nor their respective parent or affiliate companies.