Laura Ries comments on the Mel Gibson story. Would I be the only person who has something to do with branding who felt uncomfortable with this line?
He began the brand healing process early which is the only thing to do after a crisis of this magnitude.Laura talks about the "brand" as if it is a separate thing from the man; that's one way of looking at the issue I suppose. But when you juxtapose the word healing with that, I start to feel anxious. If you want to talk about brands as somehow separate from human beings, it muddies the waters if you then describe the brands as if they have some kind of soul.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of people talking about other people or themselves as brands. I have the same reaction when people talk about themselves in the third person. There's something dehumanising about it.
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Comments (4)
It's slightly different with "stars". Gibson's screen/public persona has a "separate life" from his true identity, that's why his business is threatened at the moment - because a drunk bigot is showing through the cracks in this persona.
Hopefully, in the near future even stars will have to embrace authenticity.
And i agree, you can call it a brand, and maybe it needs to be fixed (at least some damage control), but "healing" is a little too much, let's keep that for persons, not personas...
August 4, 2006 11:17 Permalink for comment
Uri, I agree and your distinction between person and persona hits the nail right on the head.
August 5, 2006 21:19 Permalink for comment
I too am uncomfortable with the trend of stars being referred to in the same vein as any other corporate entity. Equally disturbing is when the corporate entity is referred to as an individual.
I think we have an uncomfortable relationship with our capitalist culture to begin with. It taps into ideas of Big Brother, bar codes and loss of identity outside of our financial selves. We cautiously approach corporate infringements like a squirrel to an outstretched hand. Eventually though, after nothing happens and we become accustomed, we'll come to see the hand as an integrated part of our lives and vocabulary, whether it is actually harmless or not.
August 8, 2006 15:04 Permalink for comment
I agree. The person and the "brand" cannot be blurred. People need to be able to separate Mel's movies or products from him. Is it a good quality movie? Well, then enjoy and support it. If it's not, then don't. Don't just decide based on what you think of the man though.
August 11, 2006 17:42 Permalink for comment