Let’s talk about branding.
Thanks to Lance Armstrong and his Oprah interview, the topic has landed in the blogosphere/FB/Twitter/Google Hangout spotlight.
Now, I don’t mean “branding” as in the power of what it takes to make every all-American mom spread Miracle Whip vs. some generic sandwich spread on her kiddies’ lunchmeat sandwiches. No, I’m talking about something far more calculating and potentially manipulating. I’m talking about PERSONAL BRANDING.
The two-part interview led by the Queen of Confession herself, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, while informative, yet even she admitted that some of his answers were not as revealing as she was expecting. I can honestly say, I was expecting a full-blown confession worthy of a Catholic priest. Despite all of the sports world embarrassment, stripping of titles, public humiliation and the like, Lance Armstrong projected two hours of unabashed arrogance. Livestrong? No Lance, you are clearly pretty weak.
And then it dawned on me: This is his BRAND. His “Unique Selling Proposition”? Be a controversy. Live the lie. The public loves to hate a jerk. It is more beneficial, more talk-worthy, more of a selling tool than being honest and humble. Even in his disgrace, he remained true to his “brand” and, as a result, a part of the national conversation.
But as I watched that interview and revisited some of the news stories surrounding it, I realized Lance Armstrong did teach us something. The crafting of one’s personal brand is important, and it is a business. In his case, it was very profitable, albeit not honorable. He fabricated a persona and sold his mannequin of sports heroism and cancer survival to us and we gobbled it up – tour de force. The sheer magnitude of the millions, even billions, he stole in public hope and optimism is unnerving.
Think of all the children, women, men… all ages and races the world over, who wore that damn yellow bracelet.
The truth is, the concept of personal branding is not new. And the manipulation of public ideals transcends time. Think of historic figures like, for example, Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. She managed to pull the biggest persona heist in English history. Her antics, even using her own brother and sister as sexual pawns to win the King’s favor and ostracize his first wife, forced the concept of divorce on the Roman Catholic Church – sex and lies going hand-in-hand so she could attain her goal of being queen.
Her subsequent very public and historic beheading is what I would consider the 16th century version of being on Oprah’s couch. I can just imagine Oprah’s signature voice booming out to a sea of angry English townsfolk gathered to witness the spectacle: “Off with her he-e-e-addd!”
But here’s the thing: there are “Lance Armstrongs” and “Ann Boleyns” in every profession, every walk of life. Folks who thrive on crafting personal brands to get what they want, on any size scale of deception.
And guess what? They will never go away.
As an ad person, do I think we all need a personal brand of some kind? Sure. But the ethical part about any “branding” is being 100 percent truthful about what you are selling.
-Vida Cornelious, Chief Creative Officer, GlobalHue