Something Slightly More…. Natural. PLEASE.
In class, we recently discussed the ad controversy involving Ralph Lauren and photo shopping. Since I previously discussed the way media is effecting the way we deal with body issues as a society (to an extent) in blog 7, I think it would be interesting to continue along the body image dialogue and cover how this ad has affected the PR of Ralph Lauren and the way our society is dominated by vanity and unrealistic ideals.
Ralph Lauren has recently come under intense fire and scrutiny over negative publicity from an ad featuring model Filippa Hamilton-Palmstierna looking extremely altered, sickly almost, from her tiny waist to her disproportionate head. She is unnaturally tiny. Ralph Lauren has responded to the controversy by firing back at the website that originally re-posted that ad, claiming they violated copyright laws. In my opinion, Ralph Lauren did not handle this issue in the smoothest of ways. Here is how I would have dealt with the bad press Ralph Lauren received if I was in PR for the company.
Immediately after the ad went viral, I would have contacted the website that re-posted the ad, to attempt to do some damage control. Rather than accusing them of doing something wrong right off the bat, I would try and communicate with them, in attempts to protect confidential and private information and to promote healthy and fair competition among professionals (…the ad, not meant to be seen under such bias terms). Decisions would obviously be based off of the core values from PRSA’s code of ethics.
Next, I would promptly issue a public statement, perhaps through a press conference, about how Ralph Lauren made a mistake. Perhaps we had an issue in our art department, a photo shop misstep, a mistake in print. Perhaps we got caught up in the idea that our society is consumed with: looking unachievable skinny and beautiful. I would seek to make the company seem approachable, human, and pro- natural beauty. Well rounded and not ‘the bad guy’ to the public eye.
Following that, I would keep an eye on the media circulating about the ad and maintain guilt. Yes, guilt. I believe that to keep a positive public image a company needs to accept responsibility for the things it has done wrong. Honesty and integrity are quintessential in the development of a company trusted by the consumer community.
While it may seem risky by some to accept responsibility for something as serious as the altering of the physical nature of a human being, the notion that it was for consumer based purposes, and to reach for some sort of ‘ideal’, as opposed to a personal dislike for Filippa herself will hold true. There can’t be much of a downfall for a company that says
“Hey, we messed up. We’re sorry and this isn’t going to happen again.”
Think David Letterman. The fact that he was straight up about his affair with several staff members on national television showed him as a human, someone who broke through the media circus to report honestly to his faithful audience.
My outlook, in general, is that honesty is the best way to deal with something you are clearly at fault for. Ralph Lauren could have saved a lot of drama and attention by being real.
One of many stories reporting RL’s photo-shopping boo boo.
