Rosanne Barr and the consequences

I’m certainly not here to get political, but I am certain you’ve read about Roseanne Barr’s recent….”activity” on Twitter.  She says she’s “not racist, just an idiot” and that her tweets were fueled by the drug Ambien.  To this, the makers of Ambien state, “Racism is not a known side effect of Ambien”. Touche’!

Being a racist and/or an idiot has consequences though.  From the advertisers who support your entire teams on and off the set all the way up to the network heads who have literally thousands of assets they are trying to keep afloat and funded at any given time.  Being an “idiot” is no excuse for putting hundreds and perhaps thousands of people out of work.  

As you may know, I’ve been an advertising executive for some time.  I’m well aware of the risks of media support around individuals and the inherent risks it can have.  Any brands tied to the Rosanne show as well as the network are scrambling to get their media and advertising money back and quickly figure out where to put it (if they get it back).  

A few pieces of advice:

1.    Always think through worst-case scenario and have backup plans.  Anytime you’re hanging your shingle on a celebrity, you have to have a backup plan.  I’m sure I don’t have to name names of celebrities who’ve faultered.

2.    Do your research.  In this case, Rosanne has had a sorted past of controversy on Twitter alone.  Between Pizzagate and falsely accusing a Parkland school shooting survivor of performing a Nazi salute, to know she was a risk was obvious.  

3.    Protect your brand.  It can take years to create it and it can crumble in a second with one bad move. Take your time, think your associations through – my dad used to tell me to “measure twice and cut once”.  And, Dick Sackett was right.  Yes, that’s my dad’s name btw.  

Being an “idiot” is a good excuse to use when tucking your tail between your legs.  But hurting so many people both personally and financially makes you a bigger idiot than you’ll ever know Rosanne.    

-Jonathan Sackett, President and CCO of allscope.  Also, the baddest ad man on the planet!