The club can’t even handle me right now

MANILA, Philippines - There are different kinds of drunk people, from those who suddenly become uncharacteristically serious to the ones who think you’re best friends forever while discussing their deepest, most personal issues. But when you’re an individual whose career relies on public perception, getting hammered on a night out — then going ballistic like Chris Brown — might not be such a fantastic idea.

By now, you may have heard of a popular celebrity’s meltdown at an upscale club in Taguig. Whatever version of the story you choose to believe, several factors appear to be at play. While the perky young actress admits to having close to nothing in her stomach when alcohol made its evening debut, there also seems to be a Punk’d-style prank involving two actors. Those to whom she directed her obnoxious, emotional rage — she went on a slapping spree — only happened to be in the line of fire.              

PR Nightmare

Since the actress is extremely ubiquitous, this storm in a teacup has turned into a tsunami. Not only has her outburst caused a chain reaction of social media outrage and news reports, it has also triggered the customary hand-wringing by experts and schadenfreude from rivals, who snicker that she is not the sweetheart she portrays herself to be. As Charlie Chaplin said, “A man’s true character comes out when he’s drunk.”

To her credit, the TV and movie star has conducted good public relations up to this point, so this nightmare could merely be a scary dream she can wake up from. Though her Twitter apology could have been articulated better and much sooner, it has assuaged the personalities she assaulted and will perhaps go a long way to placating most of her disappointed fans. Apart from a passing mention on her noontime show, however, she has chosen to remain silent in the face of the unfolding crisis, leaving the general public to fill in more gaps, very likely tweeting or posting highly unfavorable comments about her. This is a job for Scandal’s Olivia Pope.

The 28-year-old’s series of reactions to this foul-up raises intriguing questions about her endorsement deals, of which she has a handful. When less-than-positive news about a spokesperson hits our socially networked world, companies that have contracts with him or her often re-examine the relationship. Some are quick to go elsewhere when online and offline sentiment turns sour. Others pull ads, wait for agreements to expire or immediately sever ties, putting as much distance between the endorser and themselves as tactfully as possible.

New Tagline

“The overall message to marketers is be careful, because all of us, celebrities or not, have positives and negatives to our personalities, and those negatives can easily transfer to a brand,” according to a study by the University of Colorado at Boulder, on the risk that companies take when establishing a close connection with a celebrity.

Will the likes of Century Tuna, SMDC Residences, Lactacyd and Palmolive ride out the storm and stick by the embattled star? Or will the barrage of bad press end in deals being called off? If these groups pick the first option, they can always amend their existing taglines to reflect this new, interesting image. After all, “I can buy you, your friends and this club!” is terribly catchy.