Probably the single biggest bit of good luck I've ever had was to be handed responsibility for managing the public relations for a flea treatment within weeks of starting my first job at an agency, about nine years ago. In PR terms, fleas are a wonderful species to work with. There are all sorts of fascinating things people don't know about fleas. Did you know, for example that the male flea sports an organ approximately 2.5 times the length of its own body - the largest, relative to its size, of any insect. Fleas also have an advantage in that they always elicit a reaction. They're a talking point. That's more than can usually be said about, say, an old brand of washing powder. And last but not least, the very word 'flea' lends itself to all manner of cheap headline-friendly puns.

So it was perhaps unsurprising that within weeks of starting the job, I had a major coup on my hands with the announcement of the winner of the 'Flea For All Draw' - a competition in which we offered £1000 to the person who sent us the rarest species of flea found on a pet cat or dog. OK, it did help that the winner looked like she'd stepped straight off the set of Baywatch, but the resultant headlines: 'I'm off on a fleabie', and 'Two's company, flea's a crowd' support my argument about the value of a headline-friendly subject.

My flea days are over now, and my time is entirely taken up representing a couple of long-term clients, and running this site. But if I was looking for a new public relations client, I'd be gunning for a car insurance company. Look no further than last Friday's Daily Mail for the reason why. On page 7, news from AA Insurance that its survey found growing numbers of older women are going topless (as in driving a convertible car, rather than the less palatable alternative). And on page 25, news from Norwich Union that flip-flops are the most dangerous item of footwear for driving in.

The moral of the story (aside from the fact that there are very few things in life more dangerous than an old woman driving topless in flip-flops), is that if you're looking for a job in PR with a guarantee of success, ring a car insurer. Doesn't seem to matter whether the idea is a genuinely good one (like the AA survey), or a case of stating the plainly bloody obvious, you'll get the coverage.

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