Is Bad Publicity Good?

Is there such a thing as bad publicity? The New York Post recently ran a political cartoon that has caused quite an uproar. When I first heard about it on 1010Wins, I imagined that the cartoon depicted Obama in the same manner that cartoonists had drawn Bush: with a monkey face and big ears. And I was sure that the precedent would have been used as justification for drawing Obama like a simian.

So, I was quite taken aback when I finally did see the cartoon. Can anyone tell me: What is the correlation between a chimpanzee who attacked people to Obama's stimulus plan? Is the cartoonist implying that Obama's stimulus plan attacks people? I have not read any justification that has been put forth, but that actually is not on what I want to focus.

Chris said that the newspaper editors should not have let the cartoon make it to print. I actually see WHY they did. With talk about the decrease in newspaper readership (and the Post's reputation of being only slightly better than a grocery rag mag), this attention is exactly what they needed. People bought the paper just to see what all the hoopla was about, so I am sure that The Post saw increased sales that day.

Al Sharpton (who seems to have been relatively quiet) also organized a public protest. The Post added more wood to the flame by denouncing Sharpton as an "opportunist".

This (like most things) will blow over. Was the bad publicity that The Post received "good" publicity? Will anyone do a study on how many new readers will continue to read The Post, thus increasing circulation requirements? Will this event strengthen Al Sharpton and the organizations with which he is associated?

I am tempted sometimes to do stunt marketing. Our commercial (which is coming soon) is the closest I get. I have to keep in mind the clients that we are trying to win, and I don't think that any of them would be amused. So, you won't catch me (intentionally) publishing a cartoon so blatantly offensive, planting blinking toys that promote a Cartoon Network show that cause Boston to call in the bomb squads, or standing in a chicken suit on the corner - but note how easy it was for me to recall marketing stunts. Now doesn't that tell you something...