Kim and Pete Are OVER—But Is Their PR Strategy Kaput, Too?
Not to "be fucking rude" *slaps Khloe with handbag* but is the Kardashian PR strategy defunct?
This one took a long time, ya’ll. Sorry for the mid-day email but your girl has a lot to say and I think I’m becoming slower at typing as I grow older. Go figure.
Update: I finished Verity by Colleen Hoover and I am here to tell you that you need to read it. It is undoubtedly “the” read of the summer IMHO.
I also *thought* I was ordering Jennette McCurdy’s new memoir but I apparently ordered the “notebook” version of it, which was a blank journal with the same cover as the real book. I’m also here to tell you not to fall for this shenanigan.
Before we get into the Kardashian take-down of it all, ask yourself: Do you need to catch up on PP? Check out my previous posts about Press Hook, affiliate marketing, and pitching a client for an interview. And if you haven’t signed up for the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists, I recommend it.
Anyways, Kim Kardashian (no longer West) officially called it off with Pete Davidson and as you can probably tell, I really want to talk about this.
How the Kardashian PR model started
The world was gooped and gagged—to borrow terms from drag culture— when the Kardashians first hit television in 2007. It was a different time. Kim Kardashian (not yet West) was besties with Paris Hilton, the be-all-end-all goal for paparazzos was to photograph a celeb getting out of a car to get a glimpse of her underwear, and we were all very much under the spell of Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, and other fashion brands whose business models were to literally fuck with our brains, body image, and self-confidence.
The Kardashians were interesting because they were irreverent and shamelessly themselves. They were thirsty and they owned it. Plus, Kylie—who was like, under 10 at the time—did an impressive spin around her parents’ stripper pole.
So, like, that helped, too.
And the world couldn’t look away.
Even if most of the world also criticized them.
But beyond their brazen personalities and fascinating family dynamics, the Kardashians gave us another reason to watch and talk about them: They understood publicity.
They knew how to be written about. They knew how to give interviews. They knew who to talk to, what to leak, and who to date. Most importantly, they knew how to leverage their best asset—no, not their surgically-enhanced asses but rather, Kris Jenner, the all-knowing PR machine behind it all.
When people say, “the Kardashians don’t do anything; they don’t have any talent,” you can fire back without pause: “The Kardashians’ talent is PR.”
Kim knew where to eat to be photographed and she knew who she should be with. She positioned herself with “normal” likeable friends like Food God and Allison. But then the next day, she’d be filmed dancing with Beyonce. She single-handedly influenced the way we use Instagram (and other social media platforms) today. Her sisters followed suit.
They had children and we cared about this a lot. (In fact, Kim was hounded by paparazzi when she was pregnant with North.) They announced things on TV shows and magazine covers. Her and Kanye waited several months to reveal a picture of North. They were photographed for Vogue in wedding attire after they tied the knot.
They learned how to produce a good sound bite. They saw what virality could do (ie. Kylie off-key singing, “Rise and shiiiine” to lil babie Stormiiiii) and they tried to replicate it whenever they could. (Ie. the TikTok sound bite: “Heard about this BDE.”)
They fought with other celebs. Kim tweeted about “snakes.” They were on the cover of every magazine and they forged contacts and relationships at nearly all the tabloids and the “important” mags they revered.
But this all started to fall apart around… eh, 2020.
How it’s going
The coronavirus global pandemic did a lot to the world as we knew it and with all the significant things it changed, the end of the Kardashian reign was one of its less important side effects.
All of a sudden, these glamorous bitches weren’t relevant anymore.
First of all, no one could really relate to them. You’re quarantining in a 3,800 square foot mansion? Cool, I’m in my city apartment sharing a bathroom with two roommates… No one needs to hear you complain.
They’d post photos on international trips and not really acknowledge that they should be quarantining. They went to super-spreader events. They kinda appeared like they didn’t care.
But second of all, this is when—dare I say it—the cracks in their PR strategy really started to noticeably leak through. No one really cared when they posted a bikini pic. It didn’t make the headlines it once did.
No one really cared when Kylie had another baby, named him “Wolf,” then took it back and acted like we were crazy for calling him the wrong name.
And I’d wager to bet that no one even really cared about the Kimye divorce as much as we would’ve like, five years ago.
Not with the private jet carbon footprint of it all.
So, it goes without saying that not too many shits were given about Kim and Pete Davidson when they tried to convince us that they were a legitimate couple.
She did Saturday Night Live, he “accidentally” called her his girlfriend in an interview, and they were photographed like, getting on a roller coaster or something.
But a) no one really cared b) no one really believed it and c) they got more desperate.
I mean, we cared like, a little. But again, not like we would’ve five years ago.
COVID-19 changed PR, too
Maybe you’d disagree but I think COVID also changed the world of PR. Remember in-person events? Sure, they’re peppered throughout our Gcals nowadays in a post-vaccine society, but is it like it was? Not entirely.
We can do desksides and virtual events right on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Publicists send the samples right to our houses. I’ve even done a virtual wine tasting with the assortment of vinos sent directly to my front door (tbh, nothing beats that).
Press releases still exist but do we really care about the ones headlined “TK Celeb Wore TK Brand,” anymore? Not as much as we used to, for sure.
Because like the Kardashians, it doesn’t have the same power it once did.
Consumers don’t always need the celebrity stamp of approval. We have influencers for that and we don’t need it to come from a press release. We have direct access to it—to all of them—right on our phones.
The Kardashians don’t like this, I’m sure.
But what I’m getting at here is that the Kardashians—however interesting and beautiful they are to look at still—have missed the boat a bit.
The rollout of Kim’s skincare line has been… clunky at best. Most of us are still wondering where the heck KKW Beauty went? And as far as Kim and Pete breaking up, we’re just confused as to why they were a pill we had to swallow in the first place.
What am I getting at? Everything—including the world of PR—is changing. Whether it’s because of social media, the pandemic, and/or a long-awaited cultural shift in attitude (what’s acceptable and what we, consumers, can see right through), it’s valid.
Have you watched the Victoria’s Secret documentary? I think of the Kardashians kind of like that. They sold us something for a long time and we bought it for a long time, too…
But now, we don’t really want it anymore.
Authenticity matters more than it ever has and when it comes to pushing products, rolling out new relationships, or re-introducing us to a re-branded Tristan Thompson who just can’t seem to get his shit together even still, the Ks don’t have much of it.
Either their PR strategy changes with the times or we call a spade a spade: the Kardashians can no longer keep up.
Disclaimer: Please don’t come for me. I mean to offend no one. I have long been a fan of the Kardashians show and them as individuals. As a fan, I have often gotten frustrated with them and I’m merely presenting this as cultural commentary; a discussion on how they have impacted and been impacted by PR.
The opinions cited here are my own; I do, however, believe them to be influenced by podcasts like Say Bible, Be There In Five, and maybe even Everything Iconic.
Unrelated things I think you should read
In case you’re interested.
Adam Sandler Summer Has Replaced Hot Girl Summer and We’re Fine With That, Samantha Sutton for InStyle
A Teen’s Journey Into the Internet’s Darkness and Back, Matt Ritchel for NY Times
Harry Styles: The World’s Most Wanted Man, Rolling Stone UK
Also of note, on the telly:
Untold: The Non-Existent Girlfriend (the Manti Te’o catfishing story before “catfishing” was even a verb)
Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons (like the Abercrombie doc but for PINK)
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers (three episodes currently out)
Life (but also work) updates…
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What I’m working on this week
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Bridgerton Halloween Costume Ideas: Looking for at least 11+ Bridgerton-inspired Halloween costumes, preferably with affiliate links.
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Feel free to email me if you have any relevant contributions to the above assignments.
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