Except for retired NFL players (who usually win), I would never advise any celebrity client of mine to appear on Dancing with the Stars. The whole show just wreaks of desperation and sends a weird message about who these “stars” really “are”.
Last week’s loser, David Hasselhoff sure qualifies as desperate (actually, he looked washed up) and clearly has no idea who he is. Then I saw this hilarious video:
He’s lucky it found its way primarily to Europe. But Hasselhoff’s other video, “Get Into My Car”, is offensive no matter where you live. In short, The Hoff pulls up in a “Kit” car look-alike (from Knight Rider), lures a young bombshell along for a ride, soon discovers he’s not going to score, hits the seat ejection button and out goes flying the poor girl into a pile of trash cans. While wrong on so many levels, The Hoff should be especially ashamed of himself for pulling a classic 80’s TV legend like “Kit” down with him. But that’s what desperate people searching for an identity do.
Then again, even people who aren’t desperate intentionally try strange things that end up as PR disasters and sometimes define entire careers. Just ask Casey Affleck. As Joaquin Phoenix’s producer in “I’m Still Here”, Affleck took a huge gamble on a movie both men knew was a hoax. Problem is that Joaquin Phoenix is an immensely talented actor who many say borderlines on genius. Short PR hit aside, Joaquin will be just fine in the end. Affleck, on the other hand, is not recognized in the same category, took a bath on the movie, looked ridiculous and is now flat broke.
While dumb ideas may be easy to recognize, it’s far more difficult to know if riding the “racehorse” that got you out of the gate is deteriorating into something that isn’t pretty. I think Geico’s formula in this regard is perhaps the most brilliant by incorporating several colorful “racehorses” - The Caveman, The Gecko, and Mike McGlone from The Brothers McMullen. These “pitch men” appear intermittently (yet predictably) have their own angles to keep Geico’s commercials fresh, but always stay on-message.
On the opposite end of this universe is John McCain circa 2008, who rode Joe the Plumber to the point where it got really old, looked really sad, and ended up flushing his entire campaign down the toilet. Man-crushes on a guy from a picnic in Ohio and Presidents don't mix.
“Mr. McCain, what’s your plan to reduce the national debt”?
“Joe the Plumber.”
“What’s your position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?”
“Joe the Plumber.”
Your business can avoid these types of problems, maintain relevancy and still be funny by remembering one of the Five Rules of Triumphant Communications – Just Be Good at Who You Are.
This type of balancing act has been mastered at the local level by Philadelphia jeweler Bernie Robbins, who has been wearing the same diamond in his beard for 30 years. Still looks great in commercials and Bernie didn’t “Jump the Shark” by adding an assortment of pieces to the shtick, or tattooing himself, or switching beard stones to hot pink.
He’s just darn good at being who he is.
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