Publicity works & the proof is in the poof
POSTED BY stephanie ON July 29, 2010
MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is a publicity machine. Snooki’s poof has inspired headlines from New York to L.A. Her signature hairstyle has 7,000+ Facebook Fans and on Twitter, Snooki (Nicole Polizzi) has more than 320,000 fans.
It’s official, we’re obsessed. And it’s no surprise because those crazy kids are everywhere. Even this morning’s Today Show segment about the Chelsea Clinton wedding made mention of Snooki and fellow cast member “The Situation” (not that they will be in attendance).
So amidst the endless print stories and national talk show appearances, I may have become the the latest victim of the PR hype. Snooki in The New York Times? Read it. The cast appearance on Regis & Kelly? Watched it. On Rachel Ray? Watching it. The ringing of the opening bell on the NYSE? Heard about it. “GTL:” Can explain it. And, well, Season Two? DVR’d it. What? I don’t even like the show.
Somehow I got caught up in one tanned, juiced up, big-haired frenzy of a publicity campaign. Yup, I bought it. It dawned on me yesterday that I just might be feeling the powerful effects of publicity, and that the force behind the phenomenon was in fact “Jersey Shore.” Gasp! How could I? My TV tastes mostly skew towards The Travel Channel, Discovery and Food Network. Aha! Publicity works (OK, we at PR by the Book were already well aware of this, but this drives home the point).
I rolled my eyes when the Huffington Post tipped me off to the 2,000 word feature about Snooki gracing the front page of the NYT Fashion & Style section, but I jumped pages and read every word. These Jersey kids are earning $30,000 an episode for Season Two, which was shot in Miami. Why are we so obsessed? I blame publicity, the very game I play on a daily basis. It works. Like it or not, all the media buzz has us intrigued. The hype has curiosity peaked, even in the most unlikely of viewers.
Go ahead, make headlines, rock a Snooki poof. If the “Jersey Shore” media phenomenon has taught us anything, it’s that criticism by the press shouldn’t get you down and even the craziest idea can win hearts.
Season Two premieres tonight at 10/9 Central.
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