(This week, PR News editors Phil Hall and Courtney Barnes weigh the options for PR professionals in search of flesh-and-blood and/or paint-and-ink spokespersons.)
PHIL: Sometimes you can find PR lessons in very unlikely places. For example: Take a look at the photographs at the "celebrity spokespersons" who showed up at the 2002
"Nutrition Can Be Fun" festivities at the Hayward (CA) Unified School District (you can see this at http://www.husd.k12.ca.us/Nutrition/FunPage.htm). While getting well-known individuals to encourage a healthy diet
is commendable, the educators here went about it the wrong way. Their concept for celebrity spokespersons to talk up the subject of proper nutrition was hiring actors in costumes
for cartoon characters from heavily advertised breakfast cereals loaded with high sugar content. Even worse, there was a person dressed up (badly, as you can see) as the Cat in
the Hat - perhaps to lobby for the inclusion of green eggs and ham on the food pyramid? Courtney, help! How can our readers avoid a PR faux pas like this when it comes to
matching the right celebrity spokesperson to a specific cause?
COURTNEY: The key is to take the term "celebrity" with a grain of salt. While a celebrity can bring name recognition to a product or organization, there is always a danger of
their reputation/persona taking a turn for the worse without warning. Take the Kate Moss scandal - one minute she's the "spokesmodel," if you will, for big name fashion houses,
and the next she's fodder for tabloids and gossip columns, putting her contracted companies in the hot seat for media scrutiny. While the Cat in the Hat doesn't run the risk of a
public drug bust, the example of a poorly chosen spokesperson resonates.
PHIL: A spokesperson doesn't have to be a so-called "star" to connect with audiences and the media. Novo Nordisk, for example, used the mountaineer Will Cross as the
spokesperson for their NovoLog diabetes management product line. Cross is a daibetic, but his athletic achievements have shown people with diabetes can literally climb mountains.
He is also an extraordinary communicator, which is always a plus. But when PR professionals are asked to put forth a "face" to represent a product, service or cause, too many
times they allow their thinking caps to fall off their heads. I recall a staff strategy meeting at a PR agency where I once worked. Our client offered a new-fangled mousetrap
and everyone was called in to pitch ideas on promoting it. One account executive proposed licensing animated mice characters from a popular TV program to be the spokespersons
(spokesmice?) for the product. The enthusiasm for using beloved cartoon characters was strong and at first it seemed like a good idea, but in this case it was not the best idea
since the product was supposed to exterminate mice.
COURTNEY: It seems that going the animated route is dangerous all the way around. And what are the licensing procedures for taking on a spokesperson of cartoon fame? I'd
imagine PR professionals have to be careful regarding whom they bring on, even if the spokesperson is pictorial rendition, as there is always the risk of copyright infringements.
So it looks like either route you take, there are caveats. If the celebrity is in the flesh, the chance for human error abounds; if it's a caricature, you have to look out for
copyrights and proper messaging. A little misinterpretation can go a long way.
PHIL: If the photographs from the aforementioned Web site are any indication, the alleged Cat in the Hat was not licensed from the entity that controls the rights to the Dr.
Seuss characters. Ultimately, I think PR professionals have to go beyond merely "doing their homework" when it comes to offering a high-profile spokesperson as the representative
for a product line or a nonprofit. Some essentials that should be thoroughly investigated would include: (1) public perception of the would-be spokesperson and the possibility
that this individual is carrying negative baggage or could possibly be held up to ridicule, (2) the communication skills which this individual possesses, and (3) whether this
individual can embolden people to stop, think and act in a manner that will benefit both themselves and the missions being promoted. My candidates for successful celebrity
spokespersons would be actress Kirstie Alley and Sarah Ferguson, a.k.a. the Duchess of York, who are the representatives for two well-known weight loss programs. Both women were
the subject of cruel tabloid coverage and stand-up jokes about their respective weight problems. But both women are highly articulate and intelligent, and both were able to poke
good-natured fun at their previous battles of the bulge while talking about the need to slim down and remain healthy.
COURTNEY: Indeed. And as many celebrities increasingly stand behind (or in front of) efforts to fight diseases and poverty around the world, it's clear that there are places
for fame and PR to mix safely and effectively. If there is a star with a personal interest in your cause, they may be worth pursuing; just be sure to understand all the messages
- both good and bad - that the chosen person would send. And when considering a cartoon to control messaging, be wary. If the Hayward Unified School District is any indication,
green eggs and ham won't whet too many appetites.
(Comments? Questions? Share your opinions with the editors: [email protected] and [email protected].)