On Advertising: "Big Brother" brouhaha stumps damage control experts
LONDON: Of all the tut-tutting over the tempest in the “Celebrity Big Brother” teapot, perhaps the most damning verdict came from Max Clifford, a London publicist who has rehabilitated the reputations of philandering footballers and turned wayward women into tabloid stars. Even O.J. Simpson has been a client.
But Clifford said he had no desire to represent Jade Goody, the onetime dental nurse at the center of the “Big Brother” storm, following accusations that she racially bullied another contestant on the show, the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.
“I’ve represented a few controversial people in my time,” Clifford said. “If I believe them, or I think I can make something happen, then it’s worth my time. But in this case, it would be the very person you’re trying to help, hurting herself.”
Goody had parlayed an appearance on a previous edition of “Big Brother” into lucrative endorsement deals. But after her outbursts against Shetty, a Bollywood actress, her sponsorship career appeared to be dissolving, with retailers pulling her perfume brand, the ironically named Shh, from their shelves. Meanwhile, Bennetts, a motorcycle insurer, said it was canceling an agreement with Danielle Lloyd, another contestant accused of attacking Shetty. Lloyd, a model who appeared as one of “Bennett’s Babes” on a promotional calendar, was stripped of that role, the company said, because it is “strongly opposed to any form of racism.”
Accusations of racism denied by agents for the “Big Brother” participants could be more damaging, from a sponsorship perspective, than other celebrity misbehavior, marketing experts say. The career of the model Kate Moss, for example, has rebounded after several brands dropped her following unproven tabloid allegations of cocaine use.
The “Big Brother” contretemps has also taken a toll on broader commercial relationships. Carphone Warehouse, a cellphone retailer and broadband service provider, suspended its long-running sponsorship of the show, which appears on Channel 4, a government-owned, advertiser-funded broadcaster.
“We are totally against all forms of racism and bullying and indeed this behavior is entirely at odds with the brand values of The Carphone Warehouse,” said Charles Dunstone, chief executive of the company.
Though a survey by YouGov, a polling organization, showed that few consumers saw Carphone Warehouse in a negative light because of the sponsorship, the move to drop it was prudent, said Bruce Haines, chief executive of the London office of the ad agency Leo Burnett.
“Most brands go into these things looking for fame, not notoriety,” he said. “When fame tips over into notoriety, it’s usually time to let go.”
Reality shows like “Big Brother” are particularly tricky for advertisers or sponsors, because they have little idea of what will happen.
In the United States, Procter & Gamble suspended advertising during the CBS TV reality series “Survivor” last year after allegations of racism. The show pitted “tribes” of contestants, organized by race, against each other on desert islands and other places. Procter returned only after the racial composition of the teams was shuffled.
Notoriety may turn off advertisers, but it can attract viewers. “Celebrity Big Brother” was watched by more than 7 million people on Friday night, up from 3.5 million on Jan. 15 and huge for Channel 4. “Controversy is the lifeblood of this program,” Clifford said. “They are getting worldwide publicity they only could have dreamed of.”
One odd coincidence of the “Big Brother” melee is that it developed during a week in which the British government was reining in the ambitions of Channel 4’s bigger rival, the BBC. The BBC got less funding than it had sought, prompting it to warn of cuts in program creation.
The BBC has been one of the country’s most popular exports, projecting an image, however clichйd, of British politeness, tolerance and restraint. “Celebrity Big Brother” shows another face of Britain, one where stiff upper lips come from a punch in the mouth.
Does this mean the biggest damage of the “Big Brother” brouhaha could be to Brand Britain? “I don’t think it harms it in the long run because most countries have their own versions of ‘Big Brother,’ generally staffed by pretty difficult people,” Haines said.
