Spencer Pratt For PR Genius of The Year!?
I hate to say this – but it appears that Spencer Pratt, the evil genius himself, may just have a really smart plan in place for the biggest ROI on a PR campaign – ever!
It was widely publicized this week that Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (better known as Speidi) of MTV’s “The Hills” eloped last weekend in Mexico, a story that “conveniently” landed the cover of the Thanksgiving Issue of Us Weekly. Riiiiight…..
I haven’t been reading PerezHilton as much as I used to, but in a search for my AMA recap last night, I was surfing through his video footage and stumbled across his two cents on the Speidi elopement which really just says it all. Because his commentary was so inherently relevant to PR, I figured I’d rant about it, too…
Due to the evolution of the media, celebrity gossip weeklies like Us Weekly, People, OK!, etc. etc. are no longer able to “break” stories about our “favorite” celebs, because the blogs (and subsequently primetime shows like ET and Access Hollywood) have the access and the quick turnaround to break them first. As such, the tabloids have resorted to paying off celebs for items like the first baby pictures of a new celebu-spawn, or the first story of a marriage or divorce (yuck!).
Perez mentions that according to Forbes Magazine, Heidi Montag covers help sell magazines, and with one of the biggest travel weeks of the year upon us (Thanksgiving), Us Weekly wanted to ensure they had a competitive cover that would sell while people nationwide are boarding planes, trains and automobiles.
So we find it interesting, that now breaks this news of a Heidi marriage, unbeknownst to her parents, family and friends and while she is in what must be the worst relationship that has ever existed. Somehow, I doubt that Heidi, who is a fiercely public, religious, Republican, had the marriage of her dreams, here. A marriage, that conveniently had a professional photographer for US Weekly present. How perfect!? Now, Us Weekly probably also contractually gets the story when Heidi does the wedding “right” in her hometown, and then 6 months later when they get divorced (naturally).
Perez estimates that they probably got $300-$400K for this cover. Again, a genius PR move if that’s what it was. I think they’re both making the money while they can, and that there is no real marriage (apparently it takes weeks to coordinate a non-citizen wedding in Mexico) and no real love there. The joke is on us.
Check out the clip for Perez’s words of wisdom on this painfully obvious publicity stunt!
Viewers are always wondering what Spencer really “does” on The Hills, because it appears that his job consists of sitting on the couch, being a jerk, and surfing the internet. Well folks, you’re looking at it! THIS, is what he does. Unfortunately for PR people like me, Spencer puts the B.S. in P.R.
[Alyson for It's All Very PR]
Tags: Alyson Campbell, amp3, AMP3 pr, AMP3 Public Relations, Heidi Montag, It's All Very PR, Perez Hilton, Spencer Pratt, The Hills
December 1st, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I can concede to some of your thoughts, but rather than call him a “PR Genius,” can we call him a “PR Idiot Savant?” I think to be a “genius” there’s got to be a long-term game plan and some ethics behind your PR efforts (neither Pratt seems to have).
December 1st, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Touche, Jackie. Excellent point. This kind of PR is definitely a disgrace, and exactly why I’m jumping on the Anti-PR PR-bandwagon!
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
A PR Genius, yes, but like the latter, definitely helps give PR a bad name. As a Public Relations student we often discuss why public relations sometimes gets a bad reputation. Well there you go, Spencer Pratt. Although, you are absolutely right, what a great move for Speidi, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Give it a few months, who knows what other stunts he will pull.