Celebrity endorsements

It is not my personal bag, but I do understand there is wide spread interest and fascination in the doings of those considered celebrities. The BBC in catering for the wider public has to provide a constant supply of items about celebrities. Understood, but I do take considerable exception when, over the course of a couple of days, you follow the celebrities progress from one studio to another to appear on a succession of TV or radio programme, with varying degrees of reluctance to talk about themselves and can scarcely hide their impatience to push their products, film, book, DVD or whatever. There is a delicate dance to be done here. The celebrities will not make themselves available, unless needing to promote a failing career, without being given an opportunity to promote their latest offering. The BBC is unable to maintain a supply of non-altruistic celebrities to be consumed by the public without allowing that product promotion. Have you noticed, the bar has lowered considerably over the latter years?

There is a greater reluctance to speak off product by the celebrities, there is a much more blatant display of the product and the BBC has slipped well into the mire of commercial advertisement. The stakes are very high, without access to high volume audiences the commercial enterprises fail, there are no sales. Gain access to a large audience and your commercial product can take off astronomically, if packaged right. None of this is any place where the BBC should be, their charter is not about the promotion of commercial products. What really gets my rag and I do mean really, when a supposed world celebrity dictates terms to the BBC as to the when and how! They want free access to the best and biggest audiences in this country then they have the temerity to specify terms and cannot be bothered to attend a studio. Come off it! Often to then fail to deliver a plausible off product performance. Where has the BBC parked its balls?

The BBC must get back its belief in itself and trust that is able to deliver interesting product. So okay some supposed high-lister does not get to appear in a programme. Whose loss is that in the long run? Not the BBC's and that is for sure. They are able to give access to large audiences across all the age ranges, they can actually call the shots. They can actually call the tune and decide whether the product is or is not displayed and the extent of product promotion to off product discussion takes place. I really do not think this is a youth or a changing media issue. One of the many BBC roles is to provide entertainment and that includes opportunities for celebrities to show off their talents, aires and graces or lack off them as may be. Other alternative outlets will provide for exhaustive product promotions. Get it right and I know where the benefit of audience viewing figure will lie! Just sell a product and the audience either buys into it or switches off mentally. Rather seize the opportunity of public exposure, on a non-commercial platform, to enhance the image making that supports and sustains the cult of celebrity and you are on a winner and in for the long ride. That is what the media savvy celebe understands.

The BBC in offering so many different audience platforms does have problems of tripping over its own feet. Just which audience to make available and what role the appearance is to follow. Not easy when a celebrity can be appealing to a wide audience range. Providing they keep well in check any tendency to hold a celebrity in awe, to be too overtly grateful that their flagging show is going to be boosted by this celebes appearance, I actually believe they do have the necessary skills. Skills to keep using the celebrities in a number of varying ways extracting differing tibbits from them to appeal to the appetite of their audiences and keep the product promotion as a very secondary issue. It is a dance after all of two consenting adults. both with shared and contrary objectives.

Which point does the courtier pass beyond and becomes a whore?