This is how you “do” PR.
After the New York Giants win over the New England Patriots in night’s Super Bowl, we could be talking about the game or the aging Madonna’s performance, but instead discussion revolves around M.I.A., a singer I didn’t even recognize on stage during halftime (and her above gesture). While throwing up her middle finger may be crude, it has to be acknowledged as a brilliant PR move. Besides some popularity for “Paper Planes” and an Oscar nomination for the Slumdog Millionaire song “Jai Ho,” M.I.A. has received a lot of indie cred and critical acclaim. A fusion of rap, hip-hop, world and afro-beat music, there’s a relatively high barrier to entry for her songs.
When Janet Jackson had her 2004 halftime “wardrobe malfunction” she was still a highly-popular, and accessible singer. Janet (Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty) was definitely hurt and may never completely recover. So here’s the brilliant part, M.I.A has nothing to lose by offending 80% of Super Bowl watchers, most viewers are not and never will be a fan of her music, but the people who think “flipping-off” basically all of the western world is cool (or at least don’t care if she did), has a high crossover with people who will like M.I.A.’s music.
(Source: nylasworld)
