John Follis is an award winning ad exec and marketing expert. His company, Follis, LLC is one of the most successful companies in the field of social media, viral marketing and traditional advertising.
Besides running his active company, Follis currently blogs for ADWEEK/AOL’s “Fuel the Future” and The Follis Marketing Report.
On Monday, Follis wrote a blog titled, Celebrity Apprentice (Personal Brand) Winners and Losers.
Follis suggested that the celebrity managers and publicists are trying to find out how their client scored with the public and with potential advertisers. He suggests that there are teams of people searching through twitter posts, facebook mentions and blogs that help the publicists see how well their client came off on the show. Follis said:
Though their celeb may not have won, a good primetime showing could mean millions for their celeb in the form of that next TV deal or Superbowl spot.
Follis finishes the article by listing the top winners and losers from this season of Celebrity Apprentice.
#1 on the list of Big Winners is…Clay Aiken. According to Follis:
Before this season’s CA, few knew much about Clay Aiken beyond his being “that gay American Idol singer.” Clay’s amazing showing on CA has totally elevated his public awareness and personal brand. Not only did it reveal his amazing vocal talents to millions of potentially new fans, but it also revealed him to be a super smart, caring, determined, classy, easy-going, and genuinely good, likeable guy. Perhaps, more importantly, it will hopefully help break down negative attitudes that continue to exist toward the gay community.
The two other celebrity winners are Arsenio Hall and Dayana Mendoza.
On the other end of the list, Follis chose Lisa Lampanelli as top “loser” on the show:
If this was HBO or an esoteric cable channelLisa Lampanelli might have gotten away with her condescending, foul-mouthed antics. Not on NBC in primetime. I’m sure she was told as much by her handlers (if there even is such a thing). Even with her 11th-hour attempt at crisis management by coughing up the 10k for Clay’s charity and acting all sweet and self-effacing with her final comments, it was too little, too late. She may have won big bucks for her charity, but she blew it big time to take her career up a notch. Had she been smarter she could have won while staying true to her wickedly, wise-ass persona. Instead, she just came off wicked.
The other person on the “loser” list is Aubrey O’Day.
You can read the entire blog at FOLLIS. And, if you want, you can leave a comment for the author.
According to Deborah Sierchio at Coyne Public Relations:
Many clients clamor for the clout of a heavyweight actor or actress, musician or model, host or socialite to be a part of their public relations campaigns. And with good reason. Consumers take note of celebrities and their activities, and it is widely believed to result in better “stickiness” for brands and campaigns.
Deborah suggests that there are five desired attributes that people look for in choosing a celebrity to be a part of an ad campaign:
- Trustworthiness
- Expertise
- Attractiveness
- Respect
- Similarity to the target audience.
Deborah sums it up with:
Since celebrities can add value and sizzle to a campaign, public relations professionals need to engage them with gusto, but also with caution. It is crucial to ensure that the celebrity lines up with the personality of the brand and can add to the ultimate objective of the project – to raise the overall awareness and media worthiness of a brand initiative.
You can read about Coyne Public Relations and Deborah by clicking on CPR
So…do you think that Clay gained respect and some opportunities for future adventures by being on Celebrity Apprentice? What kind of brand would profit the most with Clay as its spokesperson? What do you see as the most positive thing that Clay gained by being on Celebrity Apprentice?
I think the most important thing Clay brings to the celebrity community is his see how gay's are not people to be hated, He shows the character and morals that gay's have just like anyone else…Many of us were uncomfortable because someone was gay. He is an wonderful example of how much we can break those wall's down…He is a perfect example…….
I definitely think that Clay has earned a lot of respect from his appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. People did not know that he was so smart and funny. Even when he had a couple of encounters with Penn and Dayana, he did it with class, without shouting obscenities or belittling anyone. Clay should have won, that is without question.
I think people watching Clay over those 15 episodes realized that, yes he is "gay", but he is just a regular man, with smarts, and a fantastic work ethic. Sometimes people see gay people as one way, and I think he showed that he's just like everyone else. He normalized it, which is great, and to those that have trouble with it, saw a totally different person. Clay most definitely "Earned His Respect". Clay would be great hosting a talk show. He loves politics and current events, and a variety aspect to it. It would be great. He is just so smart.
Okay! #1 is PERFECT! WTG Clay!
Respect as an entertainer – but most of all as an honest-to goodness real person !
He certainly owns "All" of the above attributes looked for in any wholesome ad campaign. I really
would like to see him get the respect he deserves in the field of Music. He deserves to be respected
for being faithful, honest, and true and being simply kind and above all the kind of class that is had
with good manners. Anyone would be blessed to have him as a part of their "business"!!!
Marlene, I agree with all you said about Clay,I respect the person he is, he's a great role model for all of us, God bless him. Thanks musicfan, beautiful pics of clay.
Yeah, this about skims the surface of why we love Mr. Aiken. I'd need a lot more room than this to list all of his amazing attributes. This is a good start. 🙂
"Not only did it reveal his amazing vocal talents to millions of potentially new fans, but it also revealed him to be a super smart, caring, determined, classy, easy-going, and genuinely good, likeable guy."
Clay has always been #1 in my book. Now, the casual viewer saw what we have always said that Clay is intelligent, he is classy, he does have a kind heart and not just a gorgeous voice. I am eager to see now, what is down the road for him. I'll be hanging on for as long as it takes.
I agree that the biggest benefit of being on CA, besides helping NIP, is that Clay was able to show more of the real person he is. I’m definitely hoping this earned peoples respect and new opportunities for Clay.
Thanks for bringing this article to our attention. I agree with what he said. I am sure many people came away with a new idea of who the real Clay Aiken was. Clay was a class act on the show and some of them (as this author points out) were not.
I think there are many ads Clay could do well in.He is very good at talking in diferent types of voices- the puppet showed that plus his Spamalot role. I would love for him to do an animated movie also. He would be great at that.
Thanks for the wonderful photos of a very handsome Clay and the Follis blog. You always increase our knowledge of other aspects of the entertainment business. I’d love to see Clay do an animated movie…he has always mentioned that he’d like to do one.
Of course Clay is #1!!! I am getting to the point of being glad that Clay did not win. I mean, the Donald is getting more crazy all the time and Clay is not tied to him now.
I do believe that Clay earned a lot of respect for the way he played the game and everyone I have heard from said Clay should have won. I think that NBC/Celebrity Apprentice made a huge mistake…I just can't believe that we were so stupid to fall for their antics.
GO CLAY!! I hope you have lots of opportunities in front of you. You deserve them.
I like Follis' blog.
Clay's always been #1 with me.
The most positive outcome of Clay being on Celebrity Apprentice was that he showed America he isn't a big joke. They got to see the real Clay and not some caricature the media created. Once people get to know Clay, the majority tend to like and respect him.
Got that right guys! Clay will always be number1 no matter what!!!
I don't think we were stupid to fall for the NBC/CApp/Trump antics. We were just hopeful for the best, i.e. an honest and fair playing field, but forgot to be prepared for the worst, i.e. a deceptive and unjust outcome. It was an interesting but sad insight into the nitty gritty of the unreality of reality shows.
I do agree that Clay and the National Inclusion Project did gain from the show. Public awareness of what an awesome guy Clay truly is, and great publicity for the N.I.P., along with the generous donations that were made to it. Hopefully there will also be some good opportunities for a few of the projects that Clay would like to tackle. No matter what, we know that Clay is always our winner.