How does PR create celebrities?- Lucy Gaskell

It appears today that anyone can become a celebrity. “Skills” are no longer required, you don’t need a sporting talent or a gift in acting but instead outrageous acts or a likeable personality will now get you far. A reality programme such as Big Brother or The Only Way Is Essex will throw you into stardom and with work from a good public relations company you can go from being your average normal person to being seen on the front of magazines, be the face of brands and being followed by the paparazzi. Whether you love them or you hate them, these ‘celebrities’ become well-known to the public because of the backing of a good public relations company. So what is it a public relations company will do to get you on the road to stardom?

(Amy Childs, picture taken from :
http://rockyourcrowningglory.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/plum-is-new-red.htm

Harry Beckwith, a successful author, states “people buy personality and ideas before they buy the product”. So basically celebrities first of all need to be seen in a positive way, as that is how they will sell themselves. Jennifer Aniston, a well-known actress who is mainly remembered from the American television series Friends, has the image of the “girl next door” and Katy Perry, a successful singer, is seen as “innocent and fun loving”. By having these images, which are portrayed through their personalities, they have gained roles in the media. It is not just A-list celebrities but also Z-list celebrities who have got where they are today because of their personality. Just look at Amy Childs who first found fame in The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) with her iconic phrases “shut up” and “vajazzel”. Now she is often seen in the media attending events, has had her own reality programme and also has her own clothing line. All this, because she was seen as likeable and people could relate to her.

Being seen as a do-gooder also helps gain a positive public face. George Clooney was involved in the International Rescue Committee, One Direction is the face of Comic Relief this year and Jodie Marsh has been the face of PETA campaigns. All these causes gain media coverage which ultimately gains publicity both for the charity, but also the celebrity.

Knowing how to turn bad publicity into good publicity is also key. Just take Hugh Grant for instance, he was caught with a prostitute in 1995. However by admitting to his mistake, making public apologies and taking the blame for what he had done, people soon forgot about the scandal and his public relation team got him involved in UNICEF.

So in short:

• You need to be ‘out there’, somebody who no one else has seen before.
• Get their name out there – events, link to charities, press releases.
• Positive press.
• Likeable personality – good traits need to be shown.
• Social media – connect with fans.
• Link to ads/brands – if a good brands wants them as a spokesperson, its free publicity. 

PR v Celebrity- Valerie Rivett

Many may say that PR is the machine behind the celebrity. Is this true? What exactly makes a celebrity? What is the difference between PR and Celebrity?

So what is PR?
The public have many different perceptions of what PR is and what exactly public relation representatives do. Some associate PR with advertising, others associate PR with a celebrity persona and how they are perceived by the public. So with so many different opinions what exactly is PR? Are the representatives there on standby to save someone’s reputation when something goes wrong? Are the representatives there just to gain publicity? Even get in the way of gossip stories with statements such as ‘No comment.’

 So in simple terms:
Public Relations (PR) concerns itself with the image of the client. A company, public personality or political person would need PR in order to create and maintain a positive image.

 CIPR which stands for Chartered Institute for Public relations define PR as:

“Every organisation, no matter how large or small, ultimately depends on its reputation for survival and success. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and building good relationships with all organisation stakeholders.” see full quote here: here

So what is a celebrity?

There are many different opinions on what a celebrity is. There are those who deem the Hollywood A listers such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie as celebrities because they work in the public eye and see the glamour.  However with the emergence of reality television has raised the question: are there different types of celebrity? People like Mark Wright from The Only Way is Essex are now classed as celebrities with OK magazine, reporting on movements in their lives.

Example from Ok! Magazine: here

Do all these people who want their fifteen minutes of fame, class as a celebrity? What does this mean in terms of PR?

It appears that people who are classed as Z list celebrities (not very famous, reality stars and the like) seem to have a more dominant PR team, they seem to release stories in the papers, DVDs for fitness all to keep their image whatever it may be in the public's attention, However those such as Jennifer Aniston, a Hollywood film star, seems to be keeping out of the public eye as much as she can, not releasing things to keep her image up. The only time she seems to want the attention is when promoting a film or television show.

This blog will help define these terms further, answering and asking the important questions that we need to think about as the public. What is more important the PR team behind the celebrity or the celebrity itself?

Is PR redundant without a high status celebrity image, or do celebrities rely on PR more than the public realise?