© 2007 Forbes.com
Not all press is good press, no matter what the publicists say.
Consider pop tart Britney Spears, whose every move from club-hopping to head-shaving has grabbed gobs of tabloid ink. But rather than earn her adoration, the recent media onslaught has resulted in eye rolls. And worse.
According to studies by Encino, Calif.-based E-Poll Market Research, which provides appeal rankings for more than 3,000 celebrities, 72 percent of the U.S. population would use the term “overexposed” to describe Spears in 2007, as compared to only 54 percent five years earlier. To put that in perspective, most celebrities average between 3 percent and 7 percent during the peak of their careers. Worse: During that same period, her “talented” score, the presumed basis for her celebrity, fell from 35 percent to 25 percent on the E-Poll index.
But Spears isn’t the only star to have worn out her public welcome. Among others who audiences have tired of: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and the late-Anna Nicole Smith’s lover Howard K. Stern. And while overexposure may have less to do with the precise number of headlines than it does the public’s perception of the celebrity, the 15 stars on our list have proved that familiarity can, and does, breed contempt.
So who’s to blame? The stars, or the tabloids that cover them?
Blame the celebs, says publicist Stan Rosenfield, whose clients include George Clooney and Robert De Niro. “It’s like the juggler’s lament: The balls go where you throw them,” he says. “If you show up at places that are covered by the media, then they’re going to cover you. And if you don’t (show up), they won’t.”
It comes down to how these celebrities choose to lead their lives, adds In Touch Weekly editor-in-chief Richard Spencer. Risk-free lives don’t sell magazines. “No one wants to read about the cup of tea and the great banana bread (a star) made yesterday,” he says. “What gets exposure? Kissing a guy at 4 in the morning.”
And while E-Poll Chief Executive Gerry Philpott agrees that the press can only build somebody up or tear somebody down so much, he argues that the 24/7 attention that the Internet provides expedites the fame trajectory, and the exposure that comes along with it. The result: “You can go from zero to 60 in exposure like that,” he says. “And, for that matter, 60 to zero.”
Not all press is good press, no matter what the publicists say.
Consider pop tart Britney Spears, whose every move from club-hopping to head-shaving has grabbed gobs of tabloid ink. But rather than earn her adoration, the recent media onslaught has resulted in eye rolls. And worse.
According to studies by Encino, Calif.-based E-Poll Market Research, which provides appeal rankings for more than 3,000 celebrities, 72 percent of the U.S. population would use the term “overexposed” to describe Spears in 2007, as compared to only 54 percent five years earlier. To put that in perspective, most celebrities average between 3 percent and 7 percent during the peak of their careers. Worse: During that same period, her “talented” score, the presumed basis for her celebrity, fell from 35 percent to 25 percent on the E-Poll index.
But Spears isn’t the only star to have worn out her public welcome. Among others who audiences have tired of: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and the late-Anna Nicole Smith’s lover Howard K. Stern. And while overexposure may have less to do with the precise number of headlines than it does the public’s perception of the celebrity, the 15 stars on our list have proved that familiarity can, and does, breed contempt.
So who’s to blame? The stars, or the tabloids that cover them?
Blame the celebs, says publicist Stan Rosenfield, whose clients include George Clooney and Robert De Niro. “It’s like the juggler’s lament: The balls go where you throw them,” he says. “If you show up at places that are covered by the media, then they’re going to cover you. And if you don’t (show up), they won’t.”
It comes down to how these celebrities choose to lead their lives, adds In Touch Weekly editor-in-chief Richard Spencer. Risk-free lives don’t sell magazines. “No one wants to read about the cup of tea and the great banana bread (a star) made yesterday,” he says. “What gets exposure? Kissing a guy at 4 in the morning.”
And while E-Poll Chief Executive Gerry Philpott agrees that the press can only build somebody up or tear somebody down so much, he argues that the 24/7 attention that the Internet provides expedites the fame trajectory, and the exposure that comes along with it. The result: “You can go from zero to 60 in exposure like that,” he says. “And, for that matter, 60 to zero.”
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