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Bits and Pieces from the Netrunner Trivia Collection
#20: Spinn® Public Relations

by Jens Kreutzer

Spinn® Public Relations is another one of those inconspicuous cards: Has been around since the very beginning, run-of-the-mill effect, very modest in power. You won't see it played much in Constructed decks, but it does have its place in Sealed as a bitgainer that the Corp might include or might not include.

Like its Runner alter ego Streetware Distributor, Spinn® comes with the drawback that it is always an investment in the future: Three bits per action is good, but you don't get it right away. Since you seldom can be sure that the game will last another three turns, it's obvious why Spinn® is a no-no in fast-paced Constructed. Sealed games usually last longer, so Spinn® gets its chance to shine. Though other nodes like BBS Whispering Campaign or Department of Truth Enhancement are more efficient and above all faster at bitgaining, three bits per action is a good deal, and because most Runners will be unimpressed by Spinn® and therefore shy away from paying the trash cost, the card perhaps isn't all that bad after all.

The name of this Public Relations corp is a nod to "spin doctor", a word that refers to "a political spokesperson employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists" (Oxford English Dictionary). Doubtlessly, Spinn® Public Relations offer their services to corporations doing much the same: Creating a glorifying ad campaign, inventing some excuse to cover up an atrocity, throwing dirt on a competitor - always close to the truth, perhaps, but not really the truth. As the flavor text suggests, the mindless masses are only too eager to swallow up the latest fantasy doctored by the good people at Spinn®: "Of course it's true! I saw it on the 'vid." The cyberpunks (and Runners) of the Netrunner universe know, however, that anything broadcast on the 'vid (i.e., television) should on the contrary be viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion.

The interesting thing about this otherwise unspectacular card is its artwork, though. Todd Wade has altered the image considerably, but the truth is that he used a photograph as his starting point. This photo depicts a real building in Munich, Germany, which happens to be the corporate headquarters of a big German banking corp: Hypo-Vereinsbank. The address is:

Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG
Kardinal-Faulhaber-Strasse 1
80333 Muenchen
Germany

If you come to Munich, that is one sight you should not miss!

According to their webpage www.hypovereinsbank.de, this corp controls financial assets of around 111 billion eurobucks, with 400,000 customers. In 2004, they had 21,640 employees. Hypo-Vereinsbank is one of the biggest banking corps in Europe. Its history goes all the way back to the year 1780, when some German princes were eager to sell their own subjects as soldiers to England, who were then sent on to America to fight the French (and later, the insurgent colonies). It was convenient to have a bank of one's own to get at the English money more quickly. Today, we hope, Hypo-Vereinsbank has much more beneficient goals (and nothing to do with spin doctoring) - they do sponsor the arts and artists, which gives us a good impression. So no Bad Publicity counters today!