Publicity Stunt - Celebrity Marketing Falls Flat
I was seriously trying to refrain from writing about OJ Simpson, but the media circus surrounding his newest fiasco is bordering on disturbing. Has the publicity stunt replaced good old fashion public relations?
With Paris in and out of jail, Lindsey on and off of coke, and Britney in and out of her mind, the marketing of celebrities seems to be approaching a new low. Have we nothing more constructive to do than to watch and be intrigued by these ordinary people doing extra ordinarily stupid things? There’s a war going on people!!! Diversionary tactic anyone?!? But, I digress.
Seems to me that celebrity marketing has made a 180. For so long, the public was spoon-fed a picture of perfection. Celebrities had the perfect bodies, the perfect houses, cars, spouses, children - the perfect lives. Public backlash, I say by the unrealistic standards placed on w
omen, has turned the marketing tides.
Now we are bombarded with secretly taped conversations, video clips, and mug shots at how IMperfect their lives are. Do we really feel better about own lives when we see someone who is supposed to have the perfect life fall flat?
I believe this new marketing strategy will backfire. Beside movies, appearances, and sex tapes, product endorsements are the primary form of financial gain for most of these CELEButantes. With their reputations and credibility ruined, who will hire them to help sell anything other than birth control?
I must admit I am disappointed in this newest marketing trend. We’ve moved from one extreme to the next. As unrealistic as it may be, I’d love to see some sort of middle ground achieved.
Technorati Tags: Publicity Stunt, OJ Simpson, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Celebutantes, Beneath the Brand, Kelliann McDonald
Filed under: Industry Gossip, Industry News, Marketing Trends
The four celebrities you brought up are all kind of cut from the ‘Anna Nicole Smith’ mold, in that they’re not really famous for anything beyond tabloid antics. In Lohan’s case, this is quite tragic, as she’s kind of a talented person gone wrong…but for the others…this IS their career (Britney, not being able to sing even when she was young and sober, kind of portented this present, no?)
The thing that is really funny is that they (the CELEButantes,) are taking the easy way out. Don’t get me wrong: Anna Nicole made a ton of money being a useless star, as does Paris, Nicole Richie, OJ and Britney. But this isn’t a career built on longevity. They will always need has-beens on Hollywood Squares, and so Britney at 30, 40, 50 or 90 will always have some form of a job. But to build a career like Jodie Foster’s or even Madonna’s is to really work and push and be army-trained in a very real way. To be aware that the press is not going to look the other way while you puke heroin in the bushes. And to fully own the life in the spotlight.
I’m faily apathetic towards all on your list but Lindsay Lohan (and I’ll add the supremely talented/tabloid disaster Whitney Houston to this argument.) Lohan, despite her spectacular meltdown, has built a ‘brand’ on the back of actual work. Up until a year ago, Lohan was more known as being the most promising new actress. She has now worked with Streep and Fonda. The rest can promote birth control…but Lohan as real ability, and a real chance to promote more than that…simply because she can actually act.
Thank you for sharing!