"There is such a thing as bad publicity"
About this Quote
Joyce Brothers, a media-savvy psychologist, pushed back against the showbiz maxim that all publicity is good publicity. Attention is not a neutral currency; it carries judgments, and those judgments shape trust. Psychologists have long noted the negativity bias: bad information weighs more heavily than good. A single act of dishonesty, carelessness, or cruelty can eclipse dozens of positive impressions because negative cues seem more diagnostic of character and competence. For public figures, brands, and institutions, credibility is the core asset, and some kinds of attention corrode it.
The entertainment world loves the Barnum-esque idea that notoriety pays, and sometimes it does. Unknown artists or products can benefit from a minor controversy that simply raises awareness. But Brothers came of age in a television culture shaped by both manufactured spectacle and real scandal, and she understood the difference between noise and trust. A tainted food brand, a scandal-hit charity, a clinician caught inventing results, or a company mocked for hypocrisy does not gain in the long run from the attention surge. Awareness without credibility is exposure without conversion, visibility without permission. It repels customers, donors, and voters; it draws lawsuits, boycotts, and regulatory scrutiny.
The digital era intensifies the point. Search results and memes make reputational damage persistent and portable. Algorithms reward outrage, but the same virality burns into memory. Apologies and rebrands may lessen the sting, yet suspicion lingers. Parasocial relationships depend on a sense of authenticity; once the bond is cracked, audiences become not just indifferent but adversarial.
Brothers’ line is a moral and strategic warning. Do not confuse the metrics of attention with the substance of trust. Some publicity plants seeds that cannot be uprooted, anchoring a narrative of unreliability. The wiser calculus values alignment with values, consistency, and care. Fame is a spotlight; if it illuminates a failure of integrity, the brightness only makes the damage clearer.
The entertainment world loves the Barnum-esque idea that notoriety pays, and sometimes it does. Unknown artists or products can benefit from a minor controversy that simply raises awareness. But Brothers came of age in a television culture shaped by both manufactured spectacle and real scandal, and she understood the difference between noise and trust. A tainted food brand, a scandal-hit charity, a clinician caught inventing results, or a company mocked for hypocrisy does not gain in the long run from the attention surge. Awareness without credibility is exposure without conversion, visibility without permission. It repels customers, donors, and voters; it draws lawsuits, boycotts, and regulatory scrutiny.
The digital era intensifies the point. Search results and memes make reputational damage persistent and portable. Algorithms reward outrage, but the same virality burns into memory. Apologies and rebrands may lessen the sting, yet suspicion lingers. Parasocial relationships depend on a sense of authenticity; once the bond is cracked, audiences become not just indifferent but adversarial.
Brothers’ line is a moral and strategic warning. Do not confuse the metrics of attention with the substance of trust. Some publicity plants seeds that cannot be uprooted, anchoring a narrative of unreliability. The wiser calculus values alignment with values, consistency, and care. Fame is a spotlight; if it illuminates a failure of integrity, the brightness only makes the damage clearer.
Quote Details
| Topic | Marketing |
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