Greg placed the still warm waffle inside a bowl, dipped the top in melted chocolate, then filled the bowl with a big helping of soft-serve custard, complete with DQ's signature curly Q on top.

Then co-anchors Sylvia Perez and Linda Yu, giggling like a couple of little kids, looked over the array of toppings, such as crushed Oreo cookies and pieces of peanut butter cups, and heaped their favorites onto their own sundaes.

Sylvia even kicked off the segment with an enthusiastic, "We love Dairy Queen!"

It doesn't get much better than that.

The segment, which ran almost four minutes, also attracted attention for DQ's participation in Miracle Treat Day on August 9. DQs in the Chicago area will donate proceeds from Blizzards that day on August 9 to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

The story idea, pitched by Jennifer A. Raaths Public Relations, was brilliant. Simply contact your local TV newsroom and offer an in-studio demonstration on how viewers can cook something at home. Never mind that most people don't have an expensive soft- serve frozen custard machine. The producers loved the idea because it made for a fun segment. You can watch it at http://www.jarpr.com/press_room.html It's the second item.

OK, Readers. What make-it-yourself, in-studio demonstration can you pitch to tie into an upcoming special event or fund-raiser that you're sponsoring?

Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe here and receive by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."