Nearly 5,000 articles on the net dedicated to David Letterman

Anyone who doubts whether what you do, what you say or what others say about you doesn't impact your reputation should key in "David Letterman" on google news. Married TV show host Letterman is the big news story of the weekend after confessing live on air that he had been blackmailed for US$2m for having affairs with women who work on his show.


Nearly 5,000 articles can be found on the net from various media outlets and blogs commenting on his live confession, which involved him saying he did "creepy things" with employees. Will it kill his multi-million career that spans 20 plus years? Will the man who routinely jokes about everyone else's private lives, especially politicians who have done similar things, lose his job, his career and his family? Is his credibility ruined? Has he become the joke? Is his reputation in shatters?


Unless more revelations come out about the said "creepy things" he did, and they are truly apalling, I think Letterman will be okay. Letterman is a comedic talk show host, not a politician. He interviews celebrities, sports heroes and even politicians about their lives. While at the same time keeping his life extremely private. And because he is not known as a fabulously squeaky clean family man he will largely avoid being pillorised for double standards. Yes. Many people will find him a turn-off now, especially women. But his ratings will probably soar in the coming weeks as people turn on to his show to find out what he will say/do next. Even in highly conservative America.

Jackie Chan is having a very bad day

Recently Jackie Chan has been trying to get away from his comedic roles and get into more serious edgy films. Perhaps that's why he decided to be controverisal last week when speaking at a the Boao Forum on Hainan Island:

"I don't know whether it is better to have freedom or to have no freedom. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now... it can get very chaotic (and) could end up like in Taiwan.. We Chinese need to be controlled."

Not only did this comment offend the Taiwanese, he also offended the Chinese and the people of Hong Kong. And possibly ruined his career in this side of the world.

His reputation has taken a battering and the people and the media have been mauling him across Asia for the past week. And by looking at today's online stories, it looks like there is no sign of the negative publicity easing off.

In the past week the Hong Kong Apple Daily has called on him to apologise and the Hong Kong Tourism Board has been plagued with calls from the public asking him to step down as their ambassador. The People's Daily has criticised him and over 12,000 people on Facebook have joined a group to (jokingly) send Jackie Chan to North Korea. The story hit the New York Times on Thursday showing how quickly a local story can become global.

It will be interesting to see how he recovers from this amazing faux pas and how he will build up his reputation again.

Celebrities - tips on how to use them to boost your media coverage

Using celebrities to front your PR and marketing campaigns can increase your media coverage immensely and can get you into the leading newspapers, websites, radio and even on TV. But there can be some pitfalls. This article explains the great benefits. What can happen when things go wrong. And also what to look out for when hiring a celebrity.

One of the best and most professional people I've worked was Gordon Ramsay. He was incredibly professional and enthusiastic about the job we hired him for. He used our key messages in the interviews we set up for him, he worked overtime to do an interview for Channel 4 news and he had everyone who worked with him eating out of his hand because of his graciousness. And he got us hundreds of positive articles in the media all over the UK. He was well worth the money that we invested in him to boost our brand and campaign.

But hiring celebrities does not always give you positive results. You have to be very careful when choosing the right one. Celebrities who are late, demanding, go off message and generally upset your company can cause incredible damage to your and your company's reputation. This damage can take a long time to resolve. So it's important to try and prevent a huge mistake before it happens.

Would I hire Gordon Ramsay today? Probably not. His brand is currently generating a lot of negative media. So he would not be the ideal person to front a campaign. He would become the story, rather than the product. (I strongly believe that Gordon Ramsay will be able to rebuild his reputation over time. This is because his brand does not involve him being a "good boy" so it will be much easier for him to make a comeback.)

So my top tips for using celebrities for campaigns include:

1. Does the celebrity fit the campaign e.g. use a celebrity chef to front a food campaign.


2. Is his/her reputation currently good? Make sure you do your research on the celebrity.


3. Is he/she relevant in the current market.


4. Do your target audiences like this person? Would they buy something from them? Is he an opinion leader?


5. Produce a contract with the celebrity's agent detailing exactly what you expect the celebrity to do and for how long. Make sure that the agent is clear that you will expect something in return if the celebrity does not complete his contract.


6. Brief the celebrity on exactly what you need them to say and do. Ensure they understand your key messages. Continue to monitor the situation throughout the contract period.

Remember you are hiring them to do a job so you need to ensure that they boost your company's reputation not hurt it.