Although this is two years later, I thought this post was sorely needed. What started as an initial class assignment turned into a creative, therapeutic outlet for me as I explored parallels between public relations and entertainment. With the constant stream of traffic and its purpose as an online portfolio piece, I will continue to keep this blog active. Thank you to those who continue to find use in PR in the Spotlight and stay tuned, because I just might return…
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In corporate world, the rules are simple. Those who do wrong and suffer the consequences–if not legally, then through public opinion.
For entertainment, the rules are completely opposite. The worse celebrities behave, the more people crave them.
Take a second to think of two celebrities off the top of your head. I can almost guarantee that Britney Spears will be one of them. The question is why? Her talent is less than desirable and she hasn’t had a project in years (with the exception of her recent album). But for some reason, she is the face of the entertainment industry to those who aren’t familiar with that world.
Her actions have grown to be more destructive by the week but it’s obvious that the worse she does, the more paparazzi hunt her down.
Case in point: When R&B singer Akon’s album, Trouble, first came on the scene in 2004, everyone was chomping at the bits over who was this badass newcomer. His voice was decent but his “street cred” hooked people. But that credit has been blown by The Smoking Gun report that stated he fabricated his whole criminal past.
I first read the article on E!News and later followed up with Michelle Malkin’s blog, which calls him a marketing fraud.
I don’t need to go into details about what lies Akon has told (see above links for all that), but I’m confused with why he felt the need to make it up. He obviously wanted to put himself in the same light as “notorious thugs” such as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and TI.
We can’t really blame him because the message the public is sending is to “do bad and we’ll worship you!”
If it’s not painfully clear, look at the celebrities with talent and somewhat clean backgrounds who aren’t getting the same amount of press attention. Toni Braxton, Julia Roberts, Robin Thicke, etc. These are the kind of entertainers who rely on their talent to get attention. Seems like a funny notion to stars such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan but it doesn’t hurt try it.
As PR reps, how do they handle it? In the white-collar world, PR agencies pull their hair out trying to keep their clients out of the negative spotlight. PR folks act as clients’ conscious telling them what is the right thing to do.
With celebrities, there’s not a lot of options when the client is diving head first into the pit of crisis. These kind of celebrities, also known as media whores, find every way possible to seem like a deviant so that they can be on the cover of US Weekly.
How can PR reps convince them that their talent keeps them afloat. More importantly, what can they do if their client has no talent (shocker)?
PR in the Spotlight 