Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz Getting Married

On Wednesday, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz announced that they are getting married. In the world of entertainment, celebrities getting married, pregnant, or divorced is an everyday matter. However, there is something about this announcement that catches my attention and makes me think their marriage will be more significant on both Ashlee and Pete’s public images than the normal Hollywood wedding.

First off, the pop stars are both loved much more together than apart. The pictures of them together in magazines and blogs are far more interesting than images of them apart. The only thing either of them needed to further enhance their teen-rocker image was some additional teen-rocker arm candy. Their fun, alternative, and sweet personalities complement each other almost too perfectly.

Secondly, it gives both Ashlee and Paul a maturity that we have not seen yet. As young stars, they are often featured on the front of magazines and other media only in the context of being young in the big crazy world of entertainment. In contrast to Tom Cruise getting married to Katie Holmes, where both individuals have been in the industry for a long time, Ashlee and Paul may gain standing as responsible and experienced entertainers after their wedding. This is simply because of the significance that most Americans give weddings as a right-of-passage into adulthood.

Because of the special qualities of their union, Ashlee and Paul would do well to follow Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s example and use their married life as a point of interest for new fans. Jessica and Nick’s “Newlyweds” show generated a great amount of public interest that they would not have otherwise acquired. This is because everyone wants to know what it is like to live day-to-day in a celebrities’ lives, especially in their romantic lives. Since Ashlee and Paul are an extremely well-liked couple, something even as simple as a Web show or a blog documenting their early days as a married couple would be extremely popular and would enhance their public images.

Good luck to Ashlee and Pete!

Should LeBron James Be More Careful with His Image?

LeBron James is featured alongside Gisele Bundchen on the latest cover of Vogue. Some bloggers were offended by the cover and parallel it to racist images presented in the films “King Kong” and “Birth of a Nation.”

The cover and an image of a poster for “King Kong” can be found on ESPN’s “Page 2″ Blog.

ESPN blogger Jemele Hill summed up the controversy when she said, “Now, maybe the point was to show the contrast between brawn and beauty, masculinity versus femininity, strength versus grace. But Vogue’s quest to highlight the differences between superstar athletes and supermodels only successfully reinforces the animalistic stereotypes frequently associated with black athletes.”

My opinion on this is similar to many bloggers’: I do not find this image particularly racist and I did not see the connection to King Kong until it was pointed out to me. However, since many people were offended by the picture, Vogue and LeBron James should have been more careful. Since this was the first cover to ever feature an African American male, Vogue should have been sure not to include anything that may offend the African American community.

In the near future, both LeBron James and Vogue should avoid any circumstance where they may be associated with the perpetuation of negative racial stereotypes.

Kenan Thompson Found in Car with Marijuana

I read on Perez Hilton that Kenan Thompson, who first gained fame through Nickelodeon shows such as “Kenan and Kel,” was stopped by the police for erratic driving. The police found in that the vehicle “reeked of marijuana” and found pot and rolling papers on Kenan’s passenger.

Kenan’s association with marijuana is less damaging to his image now that he acts on “SNL.” It would have been quite a different story if he were still working with a children’s channel. SNL comedians have a long history of various drug usage. None of it seems to tarnish the comedians’ or the show’s favorable public image. The public is typically more accepting of drug culture with humor style entertainers than any other category.

Kenan should be mindful of the dangers of drug usage on a performer’s career: Dealing with possible legal issues and, heaven forbid, overdoses with harder drugs could seriously damage his career — and his life. As a young actor he should keep the longevity of his career and his health in mind and keep the drug-related reveling to a minimum.

Crisis Communications: High Amounts of Lead in Hannah Montana Products

Hannah Montana, the extremely popular Disney TV character, has been the concern of environmental and health officials this week. A Center for Environmental Health study shows that vinyl backpacks, a vinyl purse, a vinyl wallet and other products for children marketed with Disney’s “Hannah Montana” character contain high levels of lead. Researchers analyzed 28 Hannah Montana products and verified the results in a commercial lab. According to the study, the paint on five products, including a Girls Rock backpack from Walmart.com and a Secret Star wallet from Toys R Us, had lead content of 1,800 parts per million to 8,300 parts per million. The federal standard for lead in paint is 600 ppm. No product recalls have been placed at this time.

The coverage by the mainstream media has mainly focused on the recurring issue of lead in children’s products rather than Hannah Montana’s particular role in the trend. Most address the star in a positive light and include standard Hannah Montana brand pictures. However, some do comment on the contrast of Montana’s image to the study’s findings. For example, TMZ wrote, “Miley Cyrus is known for her squeaky-clean Disney alter ego, Hannah Montana. But are the toys bearing her likeness just as clean? Maybe not, according to The Center for Environmental Health.” Mainstream media also warns parents of the products but are not so strong to say, “Do not buy.” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus is never addressed as being responsible for this. The cause of the problem has been put on importing vinyl products from China and sold in the USA and questionable product testing on the part of Disney. Disney has responded to the Center for Environmental Health’s claims by saying, “Product safety is of primary importance to Disney Consumer Products. We require all licensed producers of products using Disney characters to test their products and to comply with all applicable product safety laws and standards.” This statement moves the blame from Disney to their manufacturers. The Hannah Montana brand specifically is never mentioned. Hannah Montana’s most important audience, her young fans, will probably never hear about this crisis except possibly by concerned parents.

Bloggers mostly poke fun at this situation, but never blame Hannah Montana for the crisis. For example CelebrityNews24-7’s opening to this story read, “You may think that Miley Cyrus makes you ill for your own reasons, but one environmental-health watchdog says that some gear… might pose a real health risk to kids,” while the Popcrunch Show teased with “Hannah Montana is trying to kill us!”Meevee’s blog gave a response that seemed to represent the typical attitude of bloggers across the board: “Miley Cyrus may be a good influence on her young fans, but Miley-branded products manufactured in China for Disney and sold at Wal*Mart – are loaded with lead.” The framing of this again pulls attention away from Hannah Montana and puts it on the Chinese manufacturer. Bloggers at times include their own opinion of Hannah Montana, but seem to suggest that this particular situation has hardly affected her brand.

The mainstream media and bloggers’ approach to covering this story is similar in that both parties seemed to agree that Hannah Montana’s popularity with young girls and squeaky clean image is a sharp contrast to the Center for Environmental Health’s findings, but the blame of this situation is put on the Chinese manufacturing, Disney, or the toy industry in general.

I believe Disney’s publicists made a good decision releasing a statement that assures parents that Disney is committed to releasing safe products. Parents do not want to have to fight their kids at the toy store, and Disney directly assures they won’t have to. Disney also does a good job of not associating the star with the crisis. Because of this, mainstream news hardly mentions her in their stories and bloggers simply poke fun at her squeaky-clean reputation. If Disney wanted to take this one step further, they could release a guide for parents on protecting their kids from dangerous toys. Disney should continue to keep Hannah Montana out of the direct public relations on this issue.

For this post I looked at stories from Fox News, USA Today, CBS News, LA Times, the Daily Green, CEHCA, Popcrunch, TMX, BloggingStocks, Team Sugar, retail.freedomblogging.com, Meevee, and CelebrityNews24-7.

Scary Jack Nicholson Pro-Hillary Commercial

TMZ recently posted an article about Jack Nicholson’s commercial for Hillary Clinton. TMZ states, “Jack Nicholson uses various characters he played in the past to sway voters towards Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The creepy factor: that all the characters in the video are some of the most evil people he’s ever played — most of which were insane!”

I believe it was a good move for Nicholson to use the well-known characters he has portrayed to benefit Hillary. Although the commercial was slightly creepy, I feel like the connection audience members feel with the movies the characters are from will enhance Jack Nicholson’s credibility. When viewers recall his movies, connecting those positive experiences with himself and then Hillary Clinton adds to the effectiveness of the advertisement as a whole.

To me celebrities supporting politicians can be an iffy area. Hollywood has typically been left-wing, however, most Americans don’t like to mix politics in with entertainment. Where most people agree that “The Shining” is a good movie, not all have the same kind of support for specific politicians. Because of the negativity associated with political campaigns, I feel like celebrity endorsement of politicians benefits the politicians more than the generally well-liked celebrities.

Ellen Page in Austin?

Actress Ellen Page revealed in a recent interview that her next movie will be filmed in Austin. The IMDB states that the synopsis of her next movie “Whip It!” is, “In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.” Ellen page playing an indie-rock loving misfit is too easy to predict. Based on this synopsis, “Whip It!” could be the sequel to “Juno.” I think Ellen Page showed her strength as an actress in “Juno,” but she needs to expand her career by taking on different roles. Young adult actors should look to “Harry Potter” stars Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliff for guidance: aside from the “Harry Potter” movies they have both done an interesting arrangement of other performances (Rupert Grint in “Driving Lesson”s and Daniel Radcliff in “Equus.”) By playing a variety of roles directly after capturing public attention, Ellen Page will show the public and film producers that her acting career will be developed and lifelong, not just limited to these “teenage misfit” characters.

I admit “Whip It!” looks totally fun and will undoubtedly charm the Austin indie-rock loving misfit audience, but it would be more exciting to see Ellen Page doing something totally different.

Valentine’s Day in the Live Music Capital of the World

Tonight, after dinner and lots of chocolate, my sweetie and I will be going to the Flamingo Cantina in Austin to see our friend’s band Canopy play with another Austin favorite, Woozyhelmet, and others. Bands in Austin rarely have a hard time getting their music-loving friends to come out and see them play. However, the wealth of music events in Austin force bands to find creative and interesting ways to get the public to come out and see them. Some things that I have seen bands do is to have themed events, such as the Valentine’s Day show tonight, to create an extra incentive for the public to come out.

Some of my favorite events in Austin are theme events, whether for Valentine’s, Halloween, or just arbitrarily throughout the year. Typically these events are heavily decorated, have four or more bands playing, and fun activities planned for attendants. Bands at these events will often try to go the extra mile when performing. I have seen bands go all out with costumes and lights, bring out and beat a pinata, or march with their instruments through the audience. These details contribute to the theme of the event and make the event much more special and fun than a typical concert at a club.

Living in Austin, I would say that most of the bands i Have been introduced to in a positive way have been through these theme party-style event. Participating in one of these around town is a great way for local bands’ shows to stand out among the endless amount available every night.

Youtube and Publicizing Comedy

Recently I was able to see Darren Carter perform at the Laff Stop in Houston. Darren and some of the opening comedians kept pushing the fact that you can see their performances on YouTube and send them to your friends. From a PR perspective, I think what MySpace has done for musicians, YouTube has easily done for comedians, poetry slammers, and other performance artists. Video uploading websites have allowed these performers to show the public their material without necessarily having been on Comedy Central or HBO. It is a great thing for starting performers. The only problem is getting people to find your material among the clutter of other funny videos.

Some ways I have seen artists do this is:
1. Encouraging or providing incentive to viewers to rate, comment, or send the video to a friend.
2. Participating in YouTube showcases or competitions.
3. Having friends who are performers link to their material.
4. Coupling YouTube with other web communications such as a blog or a myspace page to drive traffic between all the different portals.
5. Using YouTube as a support for a more traditional campaign.

My First Entry

Hello Internet! This is my first post on my new blog about public relations in entertainment. Amazing, no?