Where Has Bridget Jones Taken PR?

This week marked the premiere of the latest Bridget Jones film, and if the buzz is anything to go by, the PR team behind it has done an outstanding job with more glitz and glamour than ever. The carefully orchestrated media splash has ensured that Bridget’s return is impossible to ignore, reeling us in with a heady mix of nostalgia and excitement. I, for one, cannot wait to grab my bucket of Coke Zero (I know, I know), a bag of Revels, and sink into a recliner at the cinema to escape into Bridget’s world which is one that feels like home, wrapped in memories of the previous films, the tears shed, the head nods, and perhaps a reminder that we can be loved just as we are.

However, the timing of this film’s release is serendipitous for me in more ways than one. As I return to pursuing my dream of PhD research, the fog of grief from losing my father is slowly lifting, allowing me the space and time to revisit my work, thank you Professor Sarah Williams PFHEA

I have fond memories of watching?Bridget Jones’s Diary?with my dad, who loved a good afternoon film, preferably with a strong cuppa (or six) and a stack of digestives. I remember the scene where Bridget talked about her job involving "fannying around with press releases." Dad asked me if that was what I did, ‘no, not really, no, I tried to explain” and that is something we still often have to do, because while some things are changing, they are not changing fast enough.

Time and again, women in PR are misrepresented on screen and shown as being ditzy, champagne-sipping partygoers who flit from event to event, perpetually ‘fannying around’ rather than doing real, strategic work. The reality, of course, is far from this outdated stereotype, just ask those sitting on boards, making an impact and the many who have recently entered the Impact 50 awards, even if singing their own praises felt hard, thank you Nigel Sarbutts and Rod Cartwright for setting these up. The reality is, our work matters for many reasons, but this message on screen is not helping anyone, especially as today it is amplified on social media, something that was a mere twinkle in Hugh Grant’s eye back in the day.

The depiction of PR professionals, particularly women, has long been a topic of academic scrutiny, and it is something that fascinates me. The concept of the ‘velvet ghetto of affirmative action’ was identified in 1978, highlighting how women were being funnelled into PR roles rather than ascending to senior management positions. This marked the beginning of an ongoing investigation into the gender dynamics of the industry and its movement toward female dominance and something I want to explore in much more details.?

A fascinating study by Jane Johnson in?2010 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228775923_Girls_on_screen_How_film_and_television_depict_women_in_public_relations)?explored how film and television perpetuate these misconceptions, and her research examined how women in PR are often portrayed as either manipulative or superficial, reinforcing the idea that the profession is little more than an extension of personal charm and social finesse. This study,?Girls on Screen: How Film and Television Depict Women in Public Relations, highlights how these portrayals reduce PR professionals to secondary characters whose contributions are undermined or trivialised and this aligns with broader research on gendered portrayals in the media, where women in professional roles are frequently shown as lacking authority or credibility.

This stereotype is further reinforced by characters like Samantha Jones in?Sex and the City?because while she is a powerhouse in her own right, her character embodies many of the clichéd tropes associated with PR professionals, glamorous, flirtatious, and always at a party. Rarely do we see her deeply engaged in the behind-the-scenes strategic planning, crisis management, client education, or reputation-building that real PR professionals undertake daily. Instead, her work is often reduced to networking over cocktails and securing front-page spreads with the swipe of a well-manicured hand. Similarly, when you consider that Carrie Bradshaw’s entire character profile was moping about in nice shoes (I mean I love shoes), waiting for Big to commit to her, the lack of depth in media portrayals of women’s professional roles becomes even more apparent. Fun, maybe, helpful, not at all.?

Looking beyond Hollywood, a study by ?zlem Alik?l?? analysed Turkish TV dramas, and the findings were also damning with the majority of these characters were depicted as profit-driven, unethical, and exploitative. Perhaps even more tellingly, the few male PR professionals featured, just three, were all portrayed as gay. This reinforces the perception of PR as a feminised field while simultaneously linking it to stereotypes that undermine its legitimacy as a serious profession.

What I’m trying to say is that, as someone who has worked in this world for nearly three decades, while the shows and films are fun, the portrayals of on-screen PR practitioners do not just affect industry professionals, they shape public perception so we need the work of organisations like Women in PR and people like Stephen Waddington and Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR to change that.

If the narrative continues to paint PR as little more than media fluff, the real work of strategic communication, reputation management, crisis handling, and stakeholder engagement risks being overlooked, and let’s not even bring AI and the ever-changing media landscape into this.

So where does this leave us?

Honestly, I don’t know, but I do know that I want to look into this more.

As I settle in to watch Bridget, I will be interested to see the space she now takes up, I know very little about the plot and have not read the books and will be back with post-film thoughts on how we as an industry can rewrite the script.

Natalie

Natalie Trice?

Publicity Expert I Media Commentator I Author

AS FEATURED IN FORBES

www.natalietrice.co.uk