By Casey Malue
“There is no such thing as bad publicity” is probably one of the most inaccurate statements in PR.
Publicity can take a no-name, amateur actress and turn her into the next Sandra Bullock. Publicity can also take the trendiest pop star of the decade and leave him in the dust. The entertainment industry is reliant on publicity. If a client doesn’t have any publicity, then the client will go nowhere and be recognized by no one, but at the same time, as we see with recent stars, publicity can make or break a person’s reputation.
One of the most famous performers with this generation is Miley Cyrus. Her good girl role as Hannah Montana quickly spiraled into a twerking, wrecking ball-swinging showstopper. At first, the publicity and audience reaction was bad. Everyone made fun of her and seemed appalled at what she had become. She was another child star eaten alive by stardom. As the post-Hannah Montana era went on, Cyrus transformed into the person she is today and is still seen as a role model to some. While I’m sure some parents refuse to let their children watch her music videos, it can be learned that if a celebrity does something newsworthy, and it’s taken badly, it can lead to the career ending badly. If the celebrity and his or her team know what they are doing, they can jump back and turn it into great publicity. Cyrus’ career, even when the media and audiences were crucifying her, maintained face. Cyrus tackled the bad publicity and gave statements that turned the bad media into good media.
PR is all communication. If you know how to say it and when to say it, a crisis can be turned into a breakthrough.
While Cyrus is still admired and respected today, other stars are not. Let’s take Justin Bieber, for example. He has an enormous fan base, but his image has changed drastically over the course of his career. A lot of the decline of his career, especially most recently, is due to publicity stunts. His multiple run-ins with the law are stunts that follow almost every celebrity at some point. After a while, it turns from a good publicity stunt to get media coverage to bad publicity. After a while, the stunts become overdone and, while the media can’t get enough of how much trouble the celebrity has caused, the viewers and fans are the ones who get turn away. Once the viewers are offended by a story, the less support the star has. Britney Spears is still disliked by a large population due to her breakdown early in her career.
A celebrity’s every move stimulates publicity. That’s why every action is typically measured and weighed to see the possible repercussions. Publicity is all around us and is very crucial to maintaining a brand and gaining a following. Bad publicity exists.
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