In Defense of Public Relations

I’ve worked with celebrities who act as my clients’ brand ambassadors and it’s a great way to gain awareness. Most of the time, it requires a ton of planning to ensure the celebrity’s time is well spent because that means the clients’ money is well spent. This type of events normally begin by determining how much the talent would cost whether the event is for charity, new product launch, etc.

At times though, it’s great to see a celebrity who would just show up to put a smile on their fans’ faces.  The reclusive actor, Johnny Depp, did just that when he visited an elementary school in London in full regalia playing the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow. Obviously, it’s great for Disney to earn that kind of publicity in advance of its summer 2011 premiere of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean series. Props to Johnny Depp for showing up.

Star date: -313650.7668061897

Whether you’re a trekkie or not, you’ve heard all of the famous lines from Star Trek through the decades. “Beam me up, Scottie.”  “Energize.” “Live Long and Prosper.” and probably the most famous of them all, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.”

I saw the new Star Trek last night and I have to say it lived up to expectations. J.J. Abrams, creator/director of many blockbuster movies including, Mission: Impossible III, and cult hit TV series, Lost, is a genius. He did a terrific job in delivering all the prequel story lines. It’s a must-see whether you like sci-fi flicks or not. If you don’t believe me, just view the trailer below:

What didn’t live up to expectations is the ongoing publicity blitz for the movie.  (Hey, you guys didn’t expect me to do a movie review here, right? It’s a PR blog).

For a new movie franchise with two young (and I say this in the most heterosexual way) hot, gorgeous guys helming the birth of the U.S.S. Enterprise, I am quite disappointed that Paramount decided to send Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, as its pitch man for the movie.  Please don’t get me wrong. I love Nimoy, but probably not as much as Ann Curry of The Today Show as you’ll see in the clip below.

Nimoy’s Vulcan looks is aging.  He has lived long and prospered.  Yet apparently the PR folks at Paramount thought he still had enough juice to go on another tour in space, I mean, studios. Nimoy’s been beamed up on all morning shows, late night TV and everything in between. There is a disconnect between the movie and its publicity efforts, I must say.

If the new Star Trek movie was trying to breed and connect with a new generation of Star Trek fans, they’ve failed. My 15 year-old teen dudette asked who Nimoy was when he was being interviewed on one of the talk shows. Why Paramount’s PR pros decided against using Chris Pine, who plays the young virile James T. Kirk, and Zachary Quinto, the mature yet at times emotional, Spock, as spokespeople for the movie simply makes me wonder whether the PR profession will still be practiced in the 23rd century…I mean for the love of God, this is Sylar!

As Spock would say, “Illogical.”

Who else can explain the difference between PR and publicity better than Seth Godin? Seth put in under 10 paragraphs, what I’d like to think a majority of PR pros including myself, have been trying to tell clients and PR firm bigwigs (you know who you are!).

I hope everyone in PR would send Seth’s post to everyone they know in PR. It may just stop the insanity!