In the world of public relations the brand is everything. And in the world of pop culture, your brand is everything times 10.
In public relations we use the brand to boost awareness and further the reputation. And in pop culture you use your brand to further yourself and hopefully boost your reputation.
Most stars do this by endorsements. They receive money to represent a product that also makes them look good. Example: Jennifer Aniston is the face of Smartwater, which works for her reputation. Now if she were to endorse tube socks that really wouldn’t boost her popularity.
But, like in the world of public relations, you can’t represent competing parties. So you can imagine the shock when Teri Hatcher was found breaking her exclusive endorsement deal by using, and allowing photos to be taken of her, with a competitor of her represented product.
In this case they are asking for a refund of $2.4 million. This is enough to put a most boutique PR agencies out of commission.
Lesson learned: If you represent Coke, don’t go on Oprah drinking Pepsi. — Molli Megasko