Jade Goody and a PR Landmark

The story of Jade Goody's death was terribly sad. It was also a landmark in the march of PR.

Since ancient times, people have made up stories about the lives of famous people- Roman generals, catholic saints, Renaissance artists- in order to increase their standing and influence. For example, King Alfred the Great allegedly burnt some cakes whilst dreaming of uniting England. Only it wasn’t called PR in hose days. We have gobbled them up because we have an insatiable appetite to know the ‘real’ people behind the achievement.

In the last century, as documented in the book The Fame Formula, Hollywood flacks and others turned making up fame-enhancing stories about people into a fine art. In the second half of the 20th century, the best publicists stopped being employees and became a power in their own right, using their contacts and knowledge of the media to bring fame to whoever paid them. The media thrives on our interest in the real lives of our heroes. PR exploits this, although it now also has to control the media monster it has unleashed.

Still, at this point, people’s fame was based on some product (be it, acting, music or sporting prowess) the sale of which would be helped by the media coverage gained from PR. Occasionally someone would gain fame by being involved in something high profile- they might marry a footballer or appear in a reality TV show- but these were exceptional and their fame didn't last without some inherent talent to back it up.

Not any more. The trouble is, real stars don't want to reveal their ordinary lives, except via the contrived reality of a photoshoot for Hell. This is because either it devalues their mystique or they simply don’t want the intrusion. Some don’t want celebrity at all (check out the number of actors that haven’t supplied a photo to the Internet Movie Data Base.)

Jade Goody fed the public appetite. She perpetuated her fame because she was willing to allow the media into every corner of an ordinary life, including her deathbed. By definition, she was famous for being famous, in that she was famous for nothing else than simply being Jade Goody, an ordinary person that the rest of us could either identify with or mock.

However she was clever enough not to waste the opportunity- she made money for her children and raised awareness of cervical cancer. I admire her for that. Nevertheless, for me, the real story is that PR is now so powerful it can keep someone with no discernible talent on the front pages longer than any celebrity in recent memory.