Scandal = the new marketing tool
Mar 29th, 2013 by annemazin
Since those last few years, the word “scandal” has never been so popular : from all those scandal TV shows such as “The Real Housewives of …” and” Tan Mom” to scandal newspapers like The New York Post and its famous page 6, people like controversial and dramatic information. But has scandal become the new requirement to make money ? It seems to be the case.
Let’s talk about those TV shows. First of all, those shows are often targeting young people (from their 15’s to their 25’s) adopting their codes, points of views and ways to speak. Secondly, the more scandalous, the better. Although those shows are called “reality TV shows” and are allegedly following the real life of the characters, directors try to catch the attention of the public with dramatic scripts already written which are everything but natural. For instance, on of the most famous scandalous TV show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, is a succession of allegedly “problems” (such as picking their daily outfits or finding a new caterer at the last minute as the previous one just canceled) that have to face the Kardashian family.
But those TV shows also have consequences. According to the Italians living in New Jersey, Jersey Shore is degrading the image of the whole community being so trashy. They also have a serious impact on kids who see the characters as “stars” ans want to want to be like them, adopting their attitudes and behaviors.
Hopefully, some politicians are reacting such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who passed a new law forbidding children under 14 to get spray tans in tanning salons. Also, people under 17 must be accompanied by a parent when they go for a consultation in a tanning salon. Unfortunately, even if the law is useful, its not enough, it also has to come from the parents protecting their kids from that exposure to scandal media.
source links =
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/damien-hoffman/is-scandal-the-new-model_b_479377.html
http://adage.com/article/media/scandal-sheet/108781/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302665/Jersey-Shore-look-18-New-Jersey-Governor-Chris-Christie-passes-ban-children-tanning-beds-Tan-Mom-scandal.html