In this article, I want to talk about Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Tiger Woods. They all have suffered from controversies in their careers. But, controversy isn't always the end for branding success. Let's look at what the brands of Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Tiger Woods represent and how controversy may have helped or damaged their success.
Brands are like a 14 year olds with acne problems, way too much attitude and no proactive in sight; they are more fragile than you know. Throughout the years we've seen celebrities take time to build their names for it to be strong, yet fail to realize that it takes only one mistake to destroy it. These three brands have had huge controversies surround them, threatening their success and livelihoods.
I think it's even more interesting to watch the process that celebrities go through to get back in the good grace of fans and this machine called Hollywood or utilizing what is labeled by others as detrimental to only make their brand stronger. I like to think of it as a game...
what are they gonna do now? What will be their next move? Most make it, some may forever have their legacy tainted with the controversy. Now, lets look at the next line for comparison:
"Beyonce had one of the best video's of all time!!"
versus
"George Bush doesn't care about Black people!!"
Same passion, different context. But which one do you think did the more damage to the brand of Kanye West?
But could it be that the Country loyalists and the Disney-ride-or-die kiddies have more power in the role that the media plays than Republicans themselves?? Country music fans are the most loyal fans of any genre. The fact that Taylor became a Country cross over (to Pop) is already a huge success. Kanye's stint revoluntized and sped up this girl's career as quick as a head nod from Oprah does for company sales. After the MTV Awards, the world officially knew the name of Taylor Swift. So how did Kanye's brand help Taylor build her brand to a household name? How did Taylor's brand help hurt Kanye's household name? And what in the world does Tiger have to do with any of this?!
What are the things you think about when you hear the name Kanye (in no particular order)?
1. Groundbreaking producer, artist, it's the Roc
2. Originality
3. Controversy i.e. very opinionated
What are the things you think about Taylor Swift pre-Kanye crash?
1. Originality
2. Country artist, guitar
3. America's sweetheart, clean image
Do you see where I am going with this? When you look at the brands and what they stand for, what people remember each celebrity figure for, it is easier to see the equation. I think when he crashed Taylor's acceptance speech, Katy Perry's tweet mirrored how America felt in 10 words or less:
"F* U Kanye. It's like you stepped on a kitten."
Oddly enough, it put Taylor in a position to do the "brand control" stint on SNL that following weekend, movie roles, morning show appearances and allow the world to get to know Taylor Swift. This allowed Taylor Swift to evolve her own "Disney-esque" pre-Kanye brand to a "young woman" post-Kanye. There was a new blonde artist in town and everyone wants a piece of her ultra-wholesome goodies. Farewell
But aside from Taylor and Kanye, I believe Tiger Woods is the quintessence of what this article is about. An action as sober as Tiger did and to still get caught, this man lost major endorsements. He doesn't have movie roles or albums to sneak his way back into America's good grace. What is left? Larry King? Probably so (or did I miss that episode?). Kanye can apologize for his drunken actions on stage and passionate opinions, but how can Tiger go on TV and discuss his misjudgement for sleeping with 14+ mistresses? How do you get back in the grace of fans and admirers? It might be a longshot but its easy: Win the majors. Win the Masters. And win BIG.
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