CNN anchor Anderson Cooper gave the upcoming movie The Dilemma the best plug money can't buy. On "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Cooper said he was "shocked" to see the movie's trailer in theaters.
He was shocked because the trailer opens with Vaughn cracking a gay joke. "Electric cars are gay," Vaughn says. "I mean, not homosexual, but my-parents-are-chaperoning-the-dance gay." Here's the trailer.
Cooper said that comments like this lead to gay bullying and even teen suicide.
What Cooper's statement did, beside inspire Universal, the studio behind The Dilemma, to pull the trailer from theaters, is launch hundreds (maybe thousands) of newspaper articles and blog posts about the movie and send people to the Web looking for the taboo trailer.
Patrick Goldstein, a reporter with Tribune newspapers, referred to the flap as a "big PR hit" for Universal and The Dilemma.
Not a chance.
People offended by the crack probably wouldn't see the movie anyway. It did expose the movie to thousands (perhaps millions)--and Universal didn't have to spend an extra penny on marketing.
In a way, this is reminiscent of the Gap logo mishap. The retailer took a beating from online commenters, but ultimately the company received tons of free press. This story, which began in the blogosphere and in comment sections, made it to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Perhaps PR disasters aren't as bad as people might think.
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Comments (6)
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Posted by ELM327 Bluetooth Interface | February 26, 2013 1:18 AM
Posted on February 26, 2013 01:18
f the only take away is that Anderson Cooper, inadvertently, gave a "money can't buy" PR coup to a movie trailer that included a negative gay comment. It's tragic that so many young people have committed suicide lately dgggggggggggg
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Posted by cheap north face | November 14, 2011 11:49 AM
Posted on November 14, 2011 11:49
Catherine, I didn't do any research, but where do you come off saying that "so many young people have committed suicide lately due to gay bullying?" It sounds like there is this dramatic increase in gay suicides tied to bullying. I haven't seen that anywhere. What I have seen is that the media picked up on one suicide and it's become the "story du jour" as has been pointed out here. Yes, this is a PR blog and it centers on media coverage. The only provable increase is that people like Anderson Cooper are turning a couple of incidents into a trend through media hype. Cooper's calculating sword cuts both ways here - gay groups have a mouthpiece in Cooper; a movie gets free publicity. I wouldn't call it win-win, but to be sure, as cynical as it sounds, a couple of gay suicides have been the media all the controvery it needs to drum up viewership.
Posted by Anonymous | October 27, 2010 3:25 PM
Posted on October 27, 2010 15:25
Come on, Catherine. Never said it was the *only* take away--and I think you know that.
This is a blog about public relations, and I'm merely pointing out the facts: Cooper's statement inspired media outlets to print, post, and shoot probably thousands of segments on the movie. That's a lot of coverage(read: PR)--good or bad--for the movie.
Posted by Michael Sebastian | October 27, 2010 2:36 PM
Posted on October 27, 2010 14:36
What a sad state of affairs if the only take away is that Anderson Cooper, inadvertently, gave a "money can't buy" PR coup to a movie trailer that included a negative gay comment. It's tragic that so many young people have committed suicide lately due to gay bullying. I would have thought your publication was above just seeing the dollar signs with this supposed "PR opportunity."
Posted by Catherine Tully | October 27, 2010 1:18 PM
Posted on October 27, 2010 13:18