Comment of 2 classmates blogs of my interest

After reading a handful of my classmates’ blog posts, two in particular caught my attention.

Alexis's blog post regarding the fashion industry grabbed my attention because of my interest in both fashion and the ethical treatment of animals in fashion.  I am very pleased to see that there are both organizations out there like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and A-list celebrities that are willing to speak out about the cruel usage of animals in the fashion world today. I commend people like Stella McCartney who have shown that current fashions can still be fashionable without harming animals. I think people who endorse fashions with real animal fur are not only disrespectful but also malicious. They simply do not care to acknowledge the fact that certain fashion trends can still be just as fashionable without the usage of real animal parts and fur. Faux fur is just as appealing as the true animal fur, and it’s less expensive. I think that people use real animal fur for the sole reason of showing off how affluent they are, that they can afford real animal fur coats and such.

Blaine's blog post about the entertainment industry and the media interested me because I am very intrigued by the complexities of the media’s involvement in the entertainment industry and in various reality TV shows. Everyone’s worst nightmare came true when the hit reality MTV series “The Hills” secret was finally revealed on the season finale. The media portrays many “reality” TV shows as being “real life” but in reality it is fake. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter “insist” or lead-on that everything’s real from the people and the places to the drama in the show. I think its unfair and very misleading to give off that shows such as “The Hills” is real. I have been both a loyal and avid fan of “The Hills” ever since it began and I truly believed that every aspect of the show was real from the personalities to the various locations. Of course something’s were real like their names and where they live is obviously not staged. These are real people after all but after seeing the actual staging that occurred in the final episode of the season really disappointed me. I couldn’t even focus on what was happening with the drama of the show because of the incident with the scenery. We as consumers and being so media-dependent rely so heavily on the media and what they tell us that once we realize something’s not as it seems we get very irritated because we have been lied to on numerous accounts.

Research Results

In this video of the Spin Crowd Jonathon and Simon tag-team popular TV host, Mario Lopez and try to persuade him into representing a self-tanner targeted towards men for a company called Monte Carlo. After Jonathon and Simon pitch their idea to Mario they were shocked to hear his opinion on the matter. Lopez responded, “its not really me so I don’t know if its really true or authentic to what I’m about.” The Command PR team realizes Mario might not want to do the event after hearing what it entails.

 They desperately try to “charm” him into doing the event for them, “you’re the perfect fit-you hit all the markets you have health and fitness, you fit into the celebrity category, you’re a host…” They then realize they might lose Mario as a potential spokesperson for the self-tanner so they quickly resort to praising him in telling him who was his competition for this event. They told Mario the two people he was competing with for the spokesperson position: David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. After hearing this two world-famous names Mario was flattered and decided he would give Command PR and Monte Carlo a chance.

Despite the result of the business deal Command PR sealed with Mario Lopez in conjunction with Monte Carlo, I think Simon and Jonathon could of done some better research to achieve their desired result. If they had put more time in investigating what kind of person Mario is and how he would react to their pitch it would of gone a lot more smoothly. I believe Command PR could have found a better spokesperson that truly believes in the product, shares a connection with it and would be ecstatic to have the chance to endorse it. Instead, they just tried to push the connection and the true validity between the product and spokesperson, which should always be avoided. It should be authentic and real.

Research Ethics

In one of the first episodes of "The Spin Crowd" Command PR's CEO Jonathan instigates an ethical dilemma regarding one of his employees. He informs Erica that her lips are too small and that she should get lip injections, that the appointment has already been set up and paid for.  Slightly confused by this odd request of her boss, Erica goes to the appointment with one of her co-workers from Command PR. But when she arrives the appointment, the doctor notifies her of another option she has which is to get temporary lip injections that would only last a couple hours. Erica didn’t want to get real lip injections. After all, it was an outrageous thing to demand of an employee.

Erica decided she would be fine with getting the temporary lip injections, and went through with it. When Erica reports back to work to talk to Jonathan he notices her new lips and tells her how good they look. Erica then informs him they are “not real lip injections” and that they will only last a few more hours. Jonathan immediately gets very angry and tells her how “it’s embarrassing” to him that she would do that. He then tells her how “homely” she is and that she needs them. He continues to say, “this is Hollywood, you gotta step it up!” Jonathon’s assistant, Simon overhears the conversation and is baffled by it. Simon remarks how “ludicrous.” This whole scene can be watched in this youtube video

Jonathon clearly does not understand his boundaries especially as a CEO of a company. His request of Erica to alter her face with plastic surgery is unheard of. That is something you just don’t do.  There is difference between right and wrong, and what Jonathan is asking of Erica is so wrong on some many levels, especially in a professional work environment. It is unfair that Erica even had to deal with this sort of issue. She didn’t do anything wrong to deserve this public embarrassment. Jonathan is the boss; he should know better.

Focus

The focus of my blog is a new hit TV reality series called "The Spin Crowd" which is featured on the E! network and is produced by Kim Kardashian. This show goes inside an actual celebrity public relations agency (Command PR) located in Los Angeles, CA. Jonathan Cheban, the celebrity owner of Command PR established his company in 1999, and currently acts as its CEO. In just eleven years, Command PR has  progressed and is now considered to be one of the most highly recognized  PR companies in the business.  Jonathan and his business partner, Simon Huck are responsible for the companies rapid growth and success. Viewers can tune in to watch this duo aggresively market their firm to new clients and continue to lead the forefront of companies in the public relations field.

Command PR's client list is very impressive. They have worked with many famous celebrities such as: P.Diddy, the Kardashian Sisters, Kelly Osbourne, just to name a few. On the very first episode Jonathan, Simon and the rest of the female Command PR crew is in desperate need to find a muscular, good-looking male celebrity to endorse a new men's self tanner. They decide on Mario Lopez. Intially Mario did not seem the least bit interested but after Jonathan and Simon tag teamed him and persudaded him into thinking about it they eventually landed him. This show is very entertaining, fun and exciting to watch, especially since this is the exact niche of PR work I am interested in pursuing in the near future. I am constantly learning new things about PR and the PR industry every week when I tune in on E! to watch "The Spin Crowd."

The Link below is a great short, sneak peak youtube video of this season of "The Spin Crowd."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjlin1m3knI&feature=related