There is no such thing as bad publicity

Last week some of us in the office were talking about how celebrities get bad publicity but it doesn't hurt them like the Brittany Spears photos. They say there is no such thing as bad publicity and it looks like that is true. Do you agree? -Thomas

I do not agree with that at all. Ask any bar/ restaurant how the undercover story on the cleanliness did to their business, or the auto shop. Granted underhanded actions have their own repercussions. Though having those misdoings broadcast to the world does not help their business.

I do think that cetin professions are insulated from the bad hype. Some are even praised for their bad behavior. (Ozzy Osborne, Madonna, Bill Clinton, George W…) -n1i1c2k5

For some professions this might be true but it's not true across the board. -AZBroker

There are many bad publicity nowadays especially if it's all about porn star issues. Money is the root of evil that's why people find ways and means to earn money. They don't care if they ruined others reputation. That's the reality. -shinningstar

That makes sense. -Thomas

Even though some stars and celebrities manage to do well in their careers in spite of bad hype, it doesn't seem to be true for a few of them. One I think of is Tom Cruise. No one I know is interested in him these days. A similar thing happened with Kevin Costner several years ago, I think. -ozzie

There is definitely bad publicity in some cases.

Unless Michael Richards comes back, he experienced it.

There's a Canadian actor whose career ended after some child porn was found on his computer. -Ricardo

Three Words... Pee Wee Herman! -Coda1108

There's always bad publicity anywhere, it just depends on how you react to the issue. Just like the bad publicity of Britney Spears, do you think she's guilty? The same thing in companies, because of competition bad publicity always occur. -shinningstar

Even for celebrities, that is not always true. Look at the loss of advertising revenues that Ann Coulter is suffering as a result of the news of her indiscretions at the National Conservative Political Action Conference last week. -rlabston

Martha Stewart was convicted and sentenced to prison [bad publicity] but she's no worse for the wear. -Thomas

Didn't K-Mart, which is the outlet that sells her products, almost go under until it joined with Sears? I haven't heard lately how they are doing. Did Martha have to pay any kind of fine? I think she should have had to, in addition to her short prison stay.

Her products may still sell well but I don't think many people are interested in seeing her on tv anymore. -ozzie

While Martha Stewart was convicted and sentenced to prison, it was not necessarily bad news. Many people considered Martha a victim of a political lynching considering George W Bush did the same thing and they made hiim president.Most of the press I saw about Martha Stewart's conviction was sympathetic to her on this issue and her response to the conviction was a role model to children everywhere. -rlabston

Having a strong financial background, I feel compelled to respectfully disagree. The only argument I've heard in Martha's favor that holds at least a little bit of water is that she got caught doing what others have done... primarily having knowledge of wrong-doing but not necessarily conducting that wrong-doing... and being Martha Stewart, she was made an example of.

This argument in her favor is still not valid. The law is very very clear that anyone benefiting from wrong-doing they have knowledge of is guilty. The reason she was made an example of is because when she was first approached about her wrong-doing, like everyone else, she had the opportunity to cooperate, which would have resulted in a much more lenient sentencing. Instead, she chose to lie about her knowledge and her involvement. This brought on an investigation. The Feds are not going to be lenient if the person they're investigating hinders instead of cooperates with the process.

Had she just said "Okay, I did know what was going on, and I was wrong, here is what happened..." then she would have gotten much, much better treatment. Instead, prosecuters had to investigate and PROVE what was going on, and what her involvement was. -Coda1108

That's all well and good, Coda. So why didn't George W Bush go to jail for doing the same thing? His violation of securities law occured before he assumed the presidency. -rlabston

I agree, even if you are treated bad in media but though you are getting that media hype which one way or other make you popular in the market -mtajim

I would agree. You take the PR and let the chips fall where they
may. A good PR strategist is able to take even the most
negative news and turn it into a positive. -MaxReferrals

Publicity is a double edged sword especially for a business. If you get glowing reviews, you're going to get a huge boost in business immediately. The opposite is true if something negative is said. Some, not all, businesses can recover, but don't believe they're not burning resources to accomplish that recovery.

For small businesses, negative press can absolutely cripple them. -rogerbauer

IJ with you Ozzie -Snowboy

There is such thing as bad publicity and its 'unhappy customer' shaped. shds; -Sam Deeks

It's not the issue of the publicity (although there is indeed negative pub, for sure). It's what you do with the publicity
once you get it.

• How are you merchandising the clip, placement, appearance, etc?
• Are you letting it grow stale, or are you using the publicityand marketing it to your target audiences?

-MaxReferrals

Bad PR might not hurt you if you are Brittany or Martha but what if you are a restaurant on the corner in a small town? Lets say your chef is having a bad night or your server spills a plate of spaghetti in a customers lap and that customer leaves upset. That customer tells ten people and that ten people tell ten more and so on. There is such a thing a bad publicity!

MPrince -MPrince

A news story.Picture of a plumbing van in a driveway of a murdered victums home.The murder happend to due non payment for drug sales. Think this was good for the plumbing company who makes terrible decisions on who to hire and send into the homes of the clients?
This story confirms that not all advertising is good for everyone.
Actors are one thing as they portray loose ,wild characters. -rich34232

this was not a paid advertising but non the less it was advertising of the brand name of the company -rich34232

So when you need a plumber you are going to call that company? -MPrince