Is All Media Good Media?

The Media Issue of our newsletter would be incomplete without a review of the one-man media storm taking over March. From Twitter to every evening news broadcast to late night comedy shows, Charlie Sheen is everywhere, announcing that he is "winning" the "war" against… well, everyone. No stranger to trouble, Sheen has really upped the ante with this assault on the media. And while we are all left to ponder if we are watching an epic meltdown or a genius in earned media do his thing, Sheen's behavior raises an even bigger question in the advertising/media space:

To align, or not to align, with someone who is a media mega star…but for less than positive reasons?

The unpaid, earned media Sheen has garnered for himself in two weeks is more media coverage than most brands will amass all year. Or even over several years. Ray Broguiere, owner of the farm that produces the chocolate milk featured in Sheen's first Twitter post noted as such, telling the media that he would "never be able to afford this kind of publicity" after his farm was inundated with phone calls in the days following Sheen's Tweet.

The traditional (read: safe) thinking suggests brands should shy away from troubled stars with risky reputations—as CBS just did by firing Charlie Sheen, and as Tiger Woods painfully learned when he lost a number of sponsors after his Thanksgiving 2009 crash that led to his good-boy/family man reputation crashing down around him. But somehow, the Sheen situation is different. While Tiger was running from the media, Charlie is inviting it to follow his every move. He firmly believes he is #winning—and the rest of us, if we don't follow suit, will be left behind. He's building a brand that doesn't need a television show or a network behind it—and in doing so, he's beating every single brand out there when it comes to coverage.

So, tell us—if you were Ray Broguiere, would you be thrilled that Charlie Sheen is a fan of your product, or would you issue a statement separating yourself from the storm? We're talking about this topic on our Facebook page, and we want to know your thoughts.