The Princess of Pop is on a downward spiral of self-destruction. Her brand, image and business are being greatly damaged by her antics. I appeared with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel yesterday (September 23rd) to discuss the issue. Here are some of my thoughts:
The past year Britney Spears has been in the news a lot. While there is no doubt that almost any publicity is good and controversy is great, overexposure is the kiss of death for a celebrity. Remember the year of J Lo and Ben Affleck? Yuck, it is terrible to even remember it. After it was over people were so sick of her, him and their escapades. While initially all the PR helped their careers, in the end both brands were greatly damaged by the overexposure. Two major film flops followed with Gigli and Jersey Girl.
The past year we have all witnessed Britney’s self-destruction. And like a car wreck on the side of the road we all can’t help but watch. First, there was the French kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music awards. Then, a January marriage in Las Vegas to a high school buddy after a night of heavy drinking. Quickly followed by a quickie annulment. She has been caught numerous times partying wildly with lots of drinking, smoking, and who knows what else. The latest craziness involves her marriage (legal or not?) to boyfriend Kevin Federline. Federline is a back-up dancer whose previous girlfriend very recently gave birth to their second child together. Not exactly the best suitor for the Princess of Pop. (Justin Timberlake would have been a much better choice, too bad she got caught cheating on him.)
Too much is too much. I’m afraid that the Spears brand will ultimately pay the price for her out of control behavior. Her impulsive and silly acts have overexposed her brand and image.
Britney says her mentor and role model is Madonna. But Madonna would never have carried on in this manner. Madonna is a master marketer. Every outrageous act was actually part of a well thought-out and choreographed plan. Madonna’s success is due to her planning, personal dedication and attention to detail. She drops herself out of the spotlight periodically so she can reinvent herself once again. From Material Girl, to wife/mother, to religious mystic and numerous incarnations in-between.
The best thing for Britney to do is hide for at least six months. No tours, no interviews, no photos in Us Weekly or the Enquirer. That is what J Lo has done. And while I’m not sure it will ultimately resurrect her career, at least it has given us a break from her. She can only hope that as she attempts her comeback with a new movie “Shall we Dance” hitting theaters soon, people will embrace her again.
So Britney, just saying “oops” isn’t going to get you out of this one. You are going to have to really not do it again or it could spell the end of your career.
While I think you're usually right about most things, I think Britney's behavior will likely have the opposite effect.
kk+
Posted by: kk+ | October 2004 at 08:38 AM
I believe this is a great article yet it only confirms a long known trend in the PowerStar Market.
This Market follows the ancient laws of economy:
If the star doesn´t appear for a long time, the expectations of the fans begin to rise and naturally that extends to media, increasing the demand.
If the star is always appearing in every magazine it becomes a normal thing for fans, and then the offer of contents related to that star becomes higher than the demand.
The Fashion Industry discovered this law many years ago, so now it´s a common practice to make disapear models for long periods with the objective of increasing demand.
As for Britney´s behavior, it´s definitely a wrong thing for her brand. Not because it has shocked society but because it didn´t match the character that Britney built in consumer/ fans minds.
Shocking society it´s not always a bad thing, it depends on the product that you are selling, notice Dennis Rodman.
Joao Félix da Costa
Posted by: Jonh Felix | September 2004 at 08:21 AM
Great article. If she takes your advice, and vanishes, then we could call her:
Britney [Di]S[ap]pears
That's the Derridean deconstructionist in me leaking out again.
Posted by: Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate | September 2004 at 11:34 PM