Marketing Miley
Apr 28 2008
Was the photo shoot a misunderstanding? Or a calculated shift in image?
The uproar over a Vanity Fair photo of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus raises a question: Was it simply the outcome of a pushy photographer and naïve star or is part of an effort to position the ‘tween sensation toward a more mature image?
Parents and fans were outraged when the racy photos of the pop star, beloved by young audiences for her role as Hannah Montana, came to light. Cyrus issued an immediate apology. Disney blamed Vanity Fair. The magazine said that Miley, her parents, and handlers had seen and signed off on the photos.
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Lindsay Lohan was the subject of a January 2006 cover story (which featured its fair share of risqué snaps), and ended up denying admissions of bulimia and drug abuse the author claimed she had made.
"It's very hard for anyone to dictate what's going to happen at a shoot, especially with photographers like Annie Leibovitz," says Michael Pagnotta, president of Reach Media and the former media advisor to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. "The situation probably wasn't managed as proactively as it should have been before or during by her handlers."
But Howard Bragman, founder of media and public relations agency 15 Minutes, says the photo shoot was likely part of a more calculated strategy to evolve Cyrus's image.
"The bigger question is, why is she doing Vanity Fair in the first place?" Bragman says. "What is the career plan? If she's there, it's got to be for a reason."
Miley Cyrus wouldn't be the first example of a young Disney star chomping at the bit to move away from young audiences and family fare.
Tired of her role in 7th Heaven, a 17-year-old Jessica Biel posed for Gear magazine apparently to distance herself from the family-oriented television show.
Lindsay Lohan got her start in Disney movies such as Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. After breaking into older roles she too posed for suggestive photos in the June 2004 Vanity Fair, just before her 18 birthday.
And in August Hillary Duff, former star of hit Disney show "Lizzie Maguire," appeared in her first risqué photo spread for Maxim at the age of 19.
Bob Guccione, Jr., who was the publisher of Gear magazine when Biel posed topless, believes that Cyrus's handlers are eager to advance her toward mainstream Hollywood before her 15 minutes are up.
"Children's market phenomena are like magnesium flares: they are brilliant for a short period of time then go away," says Guccione. "Smart marketers are planning for the eventual end."
Regardless of the intent of the controversial shots, it is widely believed that at 15, Cyrus is far to young to start moving past her Disney days.
"Slow is fast enough," Pagnotta says. "Higher profile media opportunities like these are very tempting, but she's not 18, she's 15, and that's a big three years for herself and her fan base. The gap between what the Vanity Fair audience and the Hannah Montana audience expect is still much too wide."
Bragman believes that Cyrus has only scratched the surface of the Hannah Montana brand, and that breaking away from her young audiences would destroy substantial revenue potential from a very lucrative franchise.
For Disney, the controversy over the Vanity Fair photo points to the difficulties of having an enormous profit center in the volatile form of a 15-year-old girl.
Cyrus has already had issues with photos in the past, most recently one circulating on the internet of her pulling down a tank top to reveal a green lace bra.
"Disney and her brand will certainly survive this," Bragman says. "But I think Disney's going to exercise a little more control from now on."
