Gossip Girl Promotion

Have you seen the new ad for the tv show “Gossip Girl?”  It uses the acronym OMFG  which stands for Oh My F**** God.  This in junction with a very sexual picture in the background is very scandalous .  I completely agree with Perez Hilton when he says, “We think there’s something a little bit wrong with such an overtly sexual ad for a show aimed at teenagers.”

This is something the PR department should have stopped before it even left the office.  There is most likely going to be extreme concern from parents whose teens are fans of the show.  ”Gossip Girl” is aimed at teenagers and therefore their advertising should be aimed at teenagers.  I have to give them credit for creating a buzz around the show, but as  far as being appropriate….not even close.

Picture from TMZ.

Naomi Campbell Arrested

The Sun reported today that Naomi Campbell was arrested at Heathrow Airport this afternoon. She allegedly was spitting at a police officer then going at him with her fists after one of her bags failed to board the plane.  This is just another incident on Naomi’s resume where she has lost her cool.  Last year she was in trouble for throwing her mobile phone at her maid.

 

This is an incident where fast action from her publicist is going to be essential.  Naomi is beginning to gain a bad attitude reputation.  They will need to quickly have a press release that offers a genuine and heart-felt apology.  The worst thing they could do would be to let this story continue without a response from Naomi.  The press release should mention that Naomi knows this is not an acceptable type of behavior and that she will take the necessary strides to improve her temper.  Their next step should be to start to try and get some positive publicity for Naomi before she is solely known for her fast temper.  Let’s get her into some anger management!

Corinne Bailey Rae’s Husband’s Drug Overdose

Corrinne Bailey Rae’s publicist has gone a good job of keeping Corinne viewed as the sad, morning wife that she is after her husband’s death, leaving much of the information about the drugs out.  On sites such as Perezhilton and TMZ they mention that his death has been ruled as a drug overdose but there is no speculation about Corinne Bailey Rae’s possible drug use or any possibility of suicide.  Although Heath Ledger’s publicist went above and beyond in the time of his death there was still much speculation and blame going on  throughout the media whether it had merit or not.  Although her husband may not have been of high celebrity status, the way the media has handled the subject has actually been with higher character than can often be expected.  This may have been do to the quick release of a statement thanking the public for their condolences by her publicist.  Therefore I have to give her credit for handling this crisis situation well.

Crisis Communication

 

Watching Conan O’Brian Monday night I was shocked when he made light of the fact Good Housekeeping magazine had used an Irish stew recipe he had written.  The problem, Conan said, was that he cannot even cook, much less write a recipe.  After the New York Time’s John McCain controversy I am surprised this journalistic mistake was not taken more seriously.  Especially after he brought this up again on his Wednesday show.

 

All of the mainstream media that covered this story only had reference to what was said on Conan’s show and little of a response from Good Housekeeping.  The same was true with the blogs.  They all covered the story just as Conan had described it and I could find only MSNBC offered the magazines response in one line, “The mag says it’s sorry about the mix-up, and is inviting him to take a cooking class.”

 

Some of the comments made on the blogs about this story showed there was a public concern:

“All this time I’ve thought I was making my fave celeb’s recipe, it was just from the kitchen of some suburban housewife with too much time on her hands!” –Yumsugar.com

“Wow! The New York Times lying was bad enough, but now I can’t even believe Good Housekeeping?! That’s even more shocking than Malcolm Gladwell admitting his “tall tale” on The American Life:” –Gawker.com

“That’s rather odd, don’t you think? Such a reputable magazine making something like that up?? I wonder what they’ll have to say in response to this.” –Yumsugar.com

That was exactly what I was wondering.  What is their response? The Good Housekeeping PR department did not do a very good job of getting it out there.  Though not a direct response, the Conan recipe is now a top story on Good Housekeeping’s homepage, now with the words “alleged” in the title and the headline “Conan has Beef with our Lamb Stew”.   It almost seems the website is making a joke out of the situation which I am not sure is the most appropriate response for a reputable magazine.

 

This seems like poor crisis communication from the magazine.  They did a poor job putting their response and apology in the media.  I would think a reputable magazine would have a PR department that would better handle this situation.  The magazine should have at least gotten their side of the story into the coverage and offered an explanation instead of leaving the public wondering, “Are any of these celebrity recipes real?”

 

If I were the publicist for the magazine I would have offered an explanation and apology making sure their side of the story was heard in the media.  Then they could have sent a sample of the soup for Conan to try on his show as condolence.  Since Conan is taking the situation light-heartedly  he would probably try the soup on air and give it his endorsement anyways.  Maybe even give him this cooking class on air so everyone can see they really took the steps to make it up to him.  Most importantly, Good Housekeeping needs to prove their other celebrity recipes are genuine to gain confidence back from their readers.

Miley Cyrus

This week I wanted to congratulate a celebrity who makes her publicist’s job easy,  Miley Cyrus.  The latest newsworthy story reported by TMZ was that her and her dad saved a dog today.  There is no way for the media to put a bad spin on that story!  She was on Jay Leno last night with her dad which further portrayed her sweet, innocent, daddy’s little girl image.  I love it.  The only advice I can give to the Hannah Montana phenomenon’s publicist is to keep up the good work and do whatever possible to keep the innocent girl image going.  Please don’t let her turn into a Lohan, Hilton, or Spears!

Lindsay Lohan’s Nude Marilyn Monroe Photos

Lindsey Lohan has recently taken Marilyn Monroe reenactment photos.  I assume her publicist will be pushing to get these photos out but I feel they are sending the wrong message.  If I was her publicist I would be trying to keep them from being published.  For a girl who is recently out of rehab, linking herself with an actress who died of an overdose does not seem to be improving her image.  Her publicist should be trying to get a “new Lindsey” image out that shows her doing better after rehab.  Instead, she is nude in photos for the world to see.  I think this only enhances her bad girl image rather than showing she is a new girl after rehab.  Just seems like the wrong move to me!

Finally, Positive Publicity for Britney Spears

Us Magazine reports that Britney Spears was  seen shopping with her mom  before going to teach a children’s dance class on Wednesday.  Lately, Britney’s publicist must have the hardest job in Hollywood.  How are you supposed  display your client in a positive light if she is doing NOTHING positive?!  This turn of events is most likely a relief for her current publicist.  If I was her I would try and spread the word of Britney and her mother’s reconciliation as well as her helping out by teaching dance to young kids.  I think everyone would be happy to see some sanity back in Britney’s life.  Let’s get some positive images of Britney out there again.  I am sick of watching her down fall.
 

Drew Peterson (suspected murderer) on Fox’s ‘Moment of Truth’

TMZ reported  Drew Peterson, who is suspected of killing his wife and now possibly his previous wife, has contacted Fox to take a lie detector test on the new game show Moment of Truth.  This is a great example of why lawyers should not try to be pulicicsts.  At this point I may know little about the entertainment business but doing a lie detector on a GAME SHOW does not seem like it portrays a very good image for a suspected murderer.  Instead, it looks like he is trying to gain some fame and money from the murder of his wife.  I hope that Fox has declined this opportunity.  The last I saw, the Fox spokesperson had no comment.