09/17/2025
“An Invoice Disguised as an Honor: We Won a ‘Best-Of’ Pittsburgh Award.”
We have a serious dislike for clickbate contests like The Pittsburgh City Paper’s “Best of Pittsburgh” contest.
They convince regular people they’re “supporting” businesses by voting, when in reality, they’re only supporting the paper’s bottomline (well, The Post Gazette’s bottomline, their owners).
So we ran a little experiment: what really happens after you “win”? We thought it would be helpful for the thousands of people waking up today as “Not Best in Pittsburgh.” 😂
Two weeks ago, we got an email from the City Paper saying oneBURGH won an award, email us for details. We won! Hooray! Let’s celebrate!
We responded, “Great! Thanks!”
We got back…this:
“You came in 2nd Place for Best Blog. Congrats again! Please let me know if you have any interest in highlighting the win in any of our advertising options and we can have a conversation about what best suites your needs and budget. Have a great weekend!”
Wait, what? Is this how the Oscars work, too? “Dear Mr. Spielberg…”
The email attachment included:
• Ads to “thank” our fans.
• $100 VIP Winner tickets (more expensive than general admission).
• Plaques, vinyl banners, and “winner’s packages” for hundreds of dollars.
• Even a $1,420 full-page ad to brag about placing.
This isn’t recognition. Not support. Just an invoice dressed up as an honor.
Here’s our truth: Just because your favorite business didn’t spend their time, energy, and money — on top of already working 24/7 — to beg their customers to go click on someone else’s website, doesn’t mean they aren’t the best of Pittsburgh.
They are. Every single day. Without a ballot, without a plaque, and without paying for a $100 “VIP” ticket to mingle with other winners who paid to be there. 😂
Support your favorites by supporting THEM! Eat there. Buy their merch. Share their work. Click like! That’s the only scoreboard that matters.
And for those “not winners,” we have a special graphic, just for you. Please feel free to use at your discretion. You are our “Best-Of.”