Did She Set The Record Straight?

On Sunday night a 90 minute documentary about Britney Spears and her come back was featured titled "For The Record."
"So much has gone on over the last couple of years and there's a lot that people don't know about me that I want them to know," Spears told MTV News in a statement about the special. "I wanted to make this film because I started to feel like I wasn't being seen in the light that I wanted to be seen in. This is an opportunity to set the record straight and talk about what I've been through and where I'm headed."
The Documentary followed Britney around during her preparation for the MTV music awards performance and she tells all about her hardships and everything that has gone on with her over the past few years.
Not only do I think that the world, especially all of her fans, deserved to see this, but I also think that this was really good for Britney Spears image. Even though she didn't go into great detail about what really went on with her, she was able to clear the air and show the world and her fans that she is doing well, working hard and is on the road to recovery.
I think Britney Spears will always have support and an amazing fan base. She was the target of the media for so long, being labelled the worst things possible, but yet shes back on top!
Britney has survived the worst example of media scrutiny and is dealing with it and moving on.

Product Placement

Today in class we were discussing product placement. Television advertising is in a tough place with the new technologies being offered. For example, with TiVo you can record all of your favorite TV shows allowing you to skip through all commercials, which means, no ads are being viewed.
Product placement is another way that product brands can be put on display for millions of viewers to see. The new James Bond Movie Quantum of Solice houses many examples of product placement. In this Article I found it goes on to explain all the product brands that are featured in the movie.
The Quantum of Solice is a major action picture, meaning it was very expensive to produce. Product placement is a way in which high priced movies such as the Quantum of Solice can be funded.
Is product placement enough to advertise brands? Or will the lack of ads being viewed on television via TV commercials going to really affect the advertising industry?
I think due to this the advertising industry is in trouble and those working within the industry need to think outside of the box. I feel advertising needs to go above and beyond product placement in order for the industry to survive.

Oprah Tops Celebrity Philanthropy A List

Oprah Winfrey, love her or hate her, tops the list of the thirty largest public donations made in 2007 in the US. She donated $58.3 million to Oprah's Angel Network, which is focused around encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others. This Article provides further detail about Oprah and her donation.
Many A-list celebrities have charitable foundations. To name a few, the Barbara Streisand foundation and the Tiger Woods foundation. A large part of being celebrity is taking on the responsibility of giving back to those who are less fortunate. When celebrities put their name on a foundation people trust that it is a good cause.
With all the negative press that is associated with celebrities, it is also important for them to be recognized for their positive contributions.

Thoughts on crisis week..

Last week we spent the week dealing with crisis communications. I could not help but compare crisis week with the work of some celebrity publicists. Some of them (depending on who they represent) deal with crisis situations day in and out. Talk about working 24hrs a day! If your client gets a DUI at 3am on a Saturday night guess who is called and immediately goes into damage control mode? Thats right, the publicist!
This type of crisis is of course not on the same level as natural disasters or crisis happening around the world, but the process in which you handle a crisis is quite similar.

Celebrities gone good!

Charlize Theron was named the United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her focus will be ending violence against women. She will be responsible for promoting the United Nations activities and goals through the media. Now this is what we like to hear! This is a great exmaple of a celebrity using their fame and the media in a great way.

Scandal Sells

Today we had a guest speaker in our class, Retired Constable Ian Stock. He talked about dealing with the media in crisis situations. He made a point about how scandal sells and then went on to talk about Sara Palin and the way she was handled by the media this pas presidential campaign.

Sara Palin has been a treat for the media as she has been linked to scandals and has publicly embarrassed herself. Headlines like, 'Sara Palin goes on crazy shopping spree's', 'Sara Palin did not know Africa was a continent and that Canada was part of North America' were spread throughout the news.

In this Article I found on the fox news website, Sara Palin reacts to the rumors and defends herself. I wanted to give an example of how she reacted to the media and how she handled herself.

The media are always all over celebrities, it's interesting to see how different public figures deal with this.

Political airtime, is it effective?

With the November 4th Presidential election right around the corner, I wanted to take the time and talk about the airtime the candidates have received and if they are using it effectively. Lately, they have been using their airtime to bash the other party. It is not just seen in the United States, but also here in Canada and other countries around the world. Political leaders are spending their time saying how wrong the other party is when they could be using their time more wisely talking about what they are going to do for the country and goals that they have.
In the following article I found, Obama is talking about how McCain is directing his airtime around bashing Obama. Obama feels its easier for McCain to stand up and talk about what Obama is doing wrong rather than giving the country answers.

More specifically, talk about airtime and whether it is used effectively should be centered around tv commercials. Millions of viewers on a daily basis are subjected to political campaign commercials. During this time they have the undivided attention of their viewers and they should be using this time explicitly to tell America what they are going to do if elected. Rather, These commercials are full of negativity and political jargon, letting the viewers know everything bad about the other party but at the same time, nothing good about them. Could this be an example of the negative publicity I have been talking about? Is any publicity is good publicity?

Brittany Spears a PR nightmare or PR blessing?

We have all been watching Britney Spears over the past few years spiralling out of control. She has always been a paparazzi dream because of her popularity and fame, but never have we seen her plastered all over the tabloids as we have this past year. Britney Spears has been getting so much negative publicity. In the world of celebrity PR is this a good or bad thing? This goes back to the question I proposed in my first posting, is any publicity good publicity? People in the world love to hear negative things about celebrities (hence why US Weekly and Star Magazine are so popular). Even though Britney is going through such a hard time in her life, its as if she has never been more popular. How does this add up? You would think that being Britney Spears's publicist would be an absolute nightmare. Trying to cover up story after story that is leaked about her doing drugs, getting in car accidents and partying until the wee hours of the morning. A Publicist always wants to get their client publicity and coverage in all major magazine's and media outlets, but does there come a time when too much is just not good?

While we are on the topic of voting...

I was watching CBC news tonight and it has been reported that the voter turn out for the federal election yesterday was only 59%. This is the lowest voter turnout in Canadian history!
A few weeks back in our PR class we talked about different ways we could get the younger generation here in Canada to come out and vote. What is it that would influence them to want to make a difference and send their signal? Would it make a difference if a Canadian celebrity encouraged young people to vote, just like Jessica Alba has done in her PSA?

Jessica Alba's Voting PSA

I have posted the PSA that Jessica Alba has done titled the "muzzler". Will tying a celebrity to the need for young people to vote make a major impact. The purpose of this video is to get more young people to vote. Will Jessica Alba get more young voters interested, or will the message itself?

Why Has celebrity PR done a complete 180 in the past 10 years?

I want to propose the question "is any publicity good publicity?" In todays day in age celebrities are in dire need of getting any sort of publicity whether it be good or bad. Anything to get their name in the tabloids or media in any way is a successful day in the world of celebrity PR. What happened to old Hollywood where any form of "bad publicity" would ruin your career? Its seems that nothing is based on how good or talented you are, its about how bad you can be. As was mentioned in the article, Entertainment publicists are like body guards for their clients. They are no longer writing about how fabulous their clients are, instead they are doing major damage control.

For example: Paris Hilton going to jail. You think this would ruin her career, or somewhat set her back a notch. But instead the night Paris was released from jail every media outlet was there to cover it. It was a HUGE event in the media and made her even more "famous". The buzz the next day and headlines on articles were "where to get the outfit Paris wore out of jail." This brings me to my next question: What ever happened to the term earned media? Certainly, Paris didn't earn her way into the media by going to jail. Compare Paris Hilton with Natalie Portman. You can't deny Natalie Portmans celebrity status. However, the coverage Natalie gets in the media is positive. She gets positive PR, you don't ever hear about her being intoxicated on the streets of Hollywood or who she is hooking up with. Instead you hear about her talented work in her movies and things she values. Natalie has been an advocate for animal rights, and environmental causes since childhood. But yet, who gets more media coverage? I think we all know the obvious answer to this question.

I would love to hear your feedback....

Bad Publicity: Why are so many stars becoming PR nightmares?

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Bad Publicity: Why are so many stars becoming PR nightmares? January 15th, 2008 22:27 EST
LaShelle Turner

Another meltdown or another leaked sex tape, welcome to the world of celebrity public life. Hollywood has gone wild. Even fame by association is at an all-time high. Casual acquaintances, scorned former lovers and relatives are selling out stars for their own piece of notoriety. Good or bad, everyone is trying to get his or her name out there. All you need is a little public humiliation and your show biz career is guaranteed to take off.

Why do stars insist on displaying such outrageous behavior? They must know that the hookup after the club is more likely to have a camera phone and ready to post their star encounter on You Tube. They must know it is illegal to drink and drive even in Hollywood. So, why risk the public disgrace? Has the mug shot become just another publicity photo?

In today’s world, the more outrageous the star, the more popular they are to the public. We live in the age of the "scandal celebrity," celebrities famous only for being scandalous. They may or may not have any real talent, but we do not know for sure. They are too busy making fools of themselves so they can get on the front page of the tabloids. Then, after the predictable stint to rehab, comes the act of public attrition. They begin appearing on every entertainment show known to man to personally air out their dirty laundry.
One has to ask, is there any such thing as bad publicity?

Today’s celebrities seem to openly court public embarrassment. Back in the golden age of Hollywood or even just ten years ago, stars guarded their privacy like Fort Knox. In the old days, movie studios and record companies protected their star’s reputation. Scandals didn’t become public information until the star decided to write a tell-all memoir at the end of their career-- or long after they died and their offspring didn’t like what their famous mommy or daddy left them in the will.

Scandals used to be career killers. Just look at the demise of the careers of Charlie Chaplin and Ingrid Bergman. Now, scandals are career starters and re-igniters. Look at the career of Pamela Anderson and Britney Spears. These two women are walking scandal magnets.
Publicists, who were once gatekeepers of secrets, now are merely public apologists. Acting more like security guards, they react only when something bad happens. They are the ones on the front line combating media questions after the star has obviously lied to the public and media. Hollywood publicists deserve combat pay.

Publicity is now a 24-hour business. With even the respected news outlets covering celebrity gossip, stars can get more exposure. There is more competition for breaking the story first and getting that all- important exclusive. Most of us are just one headline away from notoriety. Fame can happen, seemingly, by accident.

Though fame is easier to achieve, it is also harder to keep. We are constantly on the look out for the next big thing or person. To have a longer entertainment career, you keep having to one up yourself each time. There is more pressure to keep your name on everyone’s lips. It is better to have people talking about you, then not talking about you. Hence the old saying, all publicity is good publicity.

Maybe we, the fans, are partly to blame for all this celebrity overkill. We have become a culture obsessed with sensationalism. No one wants to read happy celeb stories. It is easier to find pleasure in a star’s breakdown or breakup. Hence, all the "Brad and Angie are on the verge of break up" magazine covers.

With all the chaos, drama and lack of privacy, who in their right mind would want to be famous? Maybe fame is for crazy people, because if you’re not crazy, then you’ll soon be.
Britney Spears asks, "Do you want a piece of me?" After watching her on Entertainment Tonight and reading about her downward spiral in OK magazine, the answer is, "No."

What sparked my interest in PR?

I studied history and political science at U of T. While living in Toronto I started pursuing an acting career. I decided to move to Los Angeles to study acting more in depth. That year long experience is what sparked my interest in public relations. I was very lucky to be part of many different PR special events through volunteer work. While in Los Angeles my eye's were really opened to the world of "celebrity" and the emphasis placed on them and the competition to get into to Media. I have chosen to focus my blog around celebrity PR and the concept of " all publicity is good publicity vs. real PR". Stay tuned for the good...the bad...and the ugly!!!