2nd Update Firefly has flagged on its site (and no doubt on company stationery for the rest of time) a MORI poll which lists it as the UK's number one PR company - as voted by IT journalists.

After much hilarity, we got back on our seats and agreed it was a clever spoof. But then one Reg employee announced they had taken part in the survey - and taken the £20 thankyou very much. True to the Reg's roots though, the employee gave Firefly a poor rating.

So how come Firefly came out on top? The clue is in the blurb: "Firefly was given particular praise by journalists for their knowledge of their clients' business and also their strong individual relationships with journalists." [our emphasis]

Is there a possible link between the fact that journos got £20 for answering, Firefly winning the award and the fact that Firefly is packed to the seams with good-looking PR bunnies who frequently and consistently hold free beer evenings in the Wheatsheaf pub, north of Oxford Street? :-)

In fact, at the last meet-up/piss-up, this reporter recalls one colleague asking: "Who is that Firefly does PR for again?", before stumbling over to the bar to impress a blonde with his knowledge of her clients.

We chose to overlook the fact that Firefly is one of MORI's clients. ®

Update: Don't say that Firefly hasn't got a sense of humour (or you'll get a phone call explaining why you're wrong).

A Firefly director contacted us to "take issue" with this story. It didn't ask for a right to reply, but we figured you might be interested in where we are bad and wrong.

We would like to revoke our suggestion that Firefly only won because it regularly buys journalists beer and is staffed by attractive women. There is no documentary evidence that alcohol or members of the opposite sex have an effect on men's behaviour.

We've also had a few emails from concerned IT hacks maddened by the suggestion of bribery. Their concern is for other colleagues' inconsistency - apparently, what they say and how they vote are not complementary.

Why we are scum:

• 
  
• The poll has been run for three years and Firefly has won it every year
  
• Firefly is proud of its reputation
  
• Other agencies use MORI too
  
• And anyway, MORI is totally independent
  
• We are sexist (8 out of 10 Firefly females would take "umbrage" at being called PR bunnies)
  
• While most Firefly female workers may have blonde hair, we are sexist by mentioning the fact
  
• We presume people can laugh at themselves
  

Firefly, to its credit, decided that the accusation it didn't have a sense of humour was too much. We were impressed by this example of self-deprecation, emailed to the Reg soon after our update.