So another celebrity marriage ends in divorce. So what else is new?
Actually, I would like to consider PR ethics. For instance, is it ethical for me to write something about the woes of Mr. and Mrs. Kardashian-Humphries knowing it has a better chance of attracting an audience? Likely not. However, I am attempting to consider a serious question about the role of communicators in the age of hype. Is it ethical to hype a project when you suspect it may be doomed to failure?
The fact Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries decided to end their marriage roughly two weeks after the big wedding special on television should come as no shock. It seemed like it was a sham marriage destined to jump the shark as soon as everyone stopped watching.
PRSA’s Code of Ethics has quite a bit of relevant material on the subject of undertaking projects doomed to failure. In particular, it's important to remember not every client or project is worth taking on, regardless of the retainer or the excitement it generates. Arthur W. Page admonished PR communicators to act as the conscience of the corporation or the client. It's not enough to just advise a particular campaign is unethical, doomed to failure, or a bad idea. You must fight to prevent it from happening. Yes, ethics do matter.
Most communication projects do not begin with everyone anticipating failure from the beginning. Reality TV seems to attract bad outcomes to boost ratings and I half wonder if this divorce wasn't the plan from the beginning. There will certainly be more hype and an increase in ratings. So how could it not be for a potential payoff? I certainly know I would have a hard time blowing $10 million on a wedding just to see it fail 72-days later. To bolster my hypothesis, USA Today suggests this divorce will not tarnish Kim Kardashian's reputation.
"I'm certainly not shocked … I'm surprised it happened so quickly," says Howard Bragman, longtime Hollywood publicist and vice chairman of Reputation.com. "There were probably questions before the marriage, but all of a sudden you're on this train moving very fast. The excitement, the filming, it all took the place of the pre-marriage discussions people have. I hope regular people look at this and realize what can happen."
On the upside, he adds, "Kim has this knack for turning the bad moments in her life into financial bonanzas."
Yes, Kim Kardashian may walk away with an untarnished reputation. After all, her marriage lasted longer than Brittney's.
For the people responsible for the hype, you have to hope the publicists didn't know this would be the outcome. It is hard to imagine all the promotion and celebrity publicity was worth the effort and the potential loss on Kim Kardashian's return on integrity.
However, it is Hollywood: there's always the reruns and the foreign rights to consider.
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