Fellow Yaybia member Danielle recently posted about the portrayal of the ad-industry in movies. With the debut of "The City" (MTV’s spin-off of The Hills, which is a spin-off of Laguna Beach… whew my head is spinning) I started to notice that PR has gathered its own reputation based on a few television series, all thanks to MTV.
Loyal followers (or lazy channel surfers) of MTV may remember a reality show several years back following PR agency owner and celebrity socialite Lizzie Grubman. “PoweR Girls” chronicled the lives of Grubman and four female assistants competing for a spot in Lizzie Grubman Public Relations, an agency based in New York that deals mainly with celebrities and their endeavors. The women had to plan nightclub openings and album launches, mingle with celebrities and the press, and ultimately earn Grubman’s respect.
Then came “The Hills” featuring Lauren Conrad of “Laguna Beach” fame. After a couple seasons at Teen Vogue, Whitney and Lauren relocated to The People’s Revolution, a PR agency run by Kelly Cutrone. The agency deals heavily in the fashion industry.
Also, Heidi Pratt of "The Hills" (supposedly) works at Bolthouse Productions, an event firm which deals in Los Angeles's nightlife scene (club openings are the main “work” we see Heidi deal in when she’s not draping herself over creepy Spencer Pratt). Her job is featured often on the show, as well as promoted on the company's Web site.
“The City” spun off very recently, and with only four episodes under its belt, shows the life of Whitney Port in PR position at Diane Von Furstenberg’s company.
Finally, Kelly Cutrone of The People’s Revolution is now in talks of having her OWN show following her work in the fashion PR industry (network unknown so far).
All this exposure to the industry from MTV, what are the reprocussions? Is MTV bringing a false light to PR?
Well in my opinion, the Pros are that some of these shows do show that working at an entry level is hard work, and you can’t just breeze through or you’ll make major mistakes that cost you (i.e. Heidi drinking on the job and getting fired). However, the Cons are that most of these girls live in homes I’ll never dream of owning, wear clothes that cost more than my rent, and frequent clubs that only celebrities can get into. This is NOT the typical life of a public relations professional, especially at intern or entry level. I would hope, however, that most of the viewers take these shows with a grain of salt and realize fake from reality. Any thoughts?
3 comments:
It's like any reality show, most people know it is staged and just stupid entertainment. However, three are those that take not only reality tv too seriously, but also fictional shows and movies. I once had someone tell me they were jealous I was in advertising because they always thought it would be so cool to jetset and meet celebs and go to fancy bars and dinners. While there are perks, I feel she ignores the reality that there is real work involved and the pay is not in the millions like tv portrays. So, if it seems realistic, people may perceive it as so, even if it isn't
Great article.
Yes, I would hope that a majority of viewers know that these type of shows are somewhat staged. Getting into the PR business is very fun and exciting, but again you have to work your way to the top.
-Timothy
You wonder if this is the reason that the stratcomm major is now the most popular among Liberal Arts students at the UMN. And why the J-school has a population that consists mainly of females (I'd say 80/20).
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