Before it was eclipsed late last week by the "basketbrawl" between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons (and several of their fans) the steamy "Monday Night Football"
episode had started to take on a life of its own.
The introduction--featuring a towel-clad Nicollette Sheridan, from ABC's hit show "Desperate Housewives," asking Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens to skip
the game for her, before dropping the towel and jumping into his arms--has caused a torrent of negative publicity, backlash from viewers and conservative groups to call for
network executive heads... just like the ABC honchos planned.
For everyone who enjoys a good conspiracy theory, the craft of PR has its own version --call it "Black PR." Public relations can be hard. Practitioners are competing in a
finite space for the attention of their target audiences, that are exposed to thousands messages a day. And in an effort to achieve a tipping point of communication saturation,
the cost and the time can simply be unrealistic and unachievable.
Because of these barriers, PR pros increasingly face the possibility that their campaigns will land with a resounding thud. So they have to dial up the risk factor. Taking a
risk can mean the difference between an Advil and an anvil.
Taking a strategic risk is not easy, but it is where many of the best and most memorable PR coups have come about. These are the fun and creative ideas, the so called "out of
the box" thinking that makes the PR craft a great career.
Some rock bands are masters of getting buy-in from the public (one way or the other). KISS, for example, is PR Yoda. Love or hate the band, you know about the tongue, the fire
and a concert - years of cultivating the band's "brand" - that has nothing to do with the finer points of a G Major.
But then, there is a dark side, amply displayed in the "Monday Night Football/"Desperate Housewives" stunt, which had all of our tongues wagging, everyone from CNN's
Paula Zahn to the gang gathered around the watercooler -- and ABC can't wait to see the ratings. After all, it's November, time for Fall Sweeps and salacious scenes on your TV
sets.
My guess is some publicity executive came up with the idea, praying the negative publicity would create its very own gravity - and it did.
Through a negative, we can earn a positive. The ends justify the means, which is the attraction to the dark side. It is publicity at all costs, the "all publicity is good
publicity" theory. It is creativity and alchemy pushing the ethical envelope, and usually is an act of final desperation. The result? The positive PR gravity implodes and leaves a
black hole.
Case in point: Boobgate, when Janet Jackson had her "wardrobe malfunction" right before the release of her new CD.
Although no one would ever admit this, her publicists came up with an idea to boost sales of a banal offering and not surprisingly, although publicity was earned, it did not
make a positive impact to the core objective. Movie studios, typically when they know they have a stinker, pull out the Black PR Covert Ops Team.
There are hundreds of examples of "Black PR" that date back to the earliest days of communications, but some prominent examples would include the apparent religious groups
boycotting "The Exorcist," a publicity stunt masterminded by the studio that released the 1973 horror flick; the whole Pop Rocks/Pepsi urban legend that bolstered sales (and peer
pressure) of the candy by its manufacturers; new Coke; the I Hate the New Kids on the Block merchandise, printed by and profits recouped by the band itself and the parental
advisory label on '80s metal bands.
With Black PR, the truth is typically an irrelevant commodity. There's a lot to learn from these types of practices and how we not only as professionals--but also as consumers-
-need to look at things a bit more cynically and to question everything.
On the consumer side, it is our job as PR professionals to convince consumers to buy or buy into your product, service or person. Every day, we plan and execute programs
designed to affect change in consumer behavior.
It is certainly a challenge to come up with fresh ideas that will move the needle for our clients or our organization, but negative publicity is a last resort that ultimately
will bite you -- because in this business, your word and your credibility are the real commodity.
Contact: Rodger Roeser, APR, is vice president of Justice & Young, a full service integrated marketing agency headquartered in Cincinnati. He can be reached at
513.388.4706, [email protected].