52- PR and Marketing Laws – Law No. 12: The Law of Ego (Hype)

Appearances can be deceiving, and there’s nothing more human than wanting our peers to think we’re at the top of our game. Many of you surely know the saying, “Fake it till you make it.” This belief may drive us to keep moving forward and taking action, but it can also quickly become a trap. Since the advent of social media, I’ve had the sense that this Law of Ego, which can result in hype or overexposure on social media and mainstream media alike, has unfortunately become the rule among influencers and celebrities who found their fame online. Many of them are forever being featured in fabulous settings, exotic locales, and high-end designer outfits. I know they’re trying to inspire us, but if they really are influential, I suspect that many of their followers end up feeling depressed when they compare their own lives, which may look a lot less shiny, to the glamour and bling that these influencers are constantly displaying. But hype, like propaganda, is nothing new; you need only look to the *fables of La Fontaine, written between 1668 and 1694. La Fontaine refers to the hypocritical members of the court, always fawning for the king’s favour. These fables are taught to children, but they’re also very useful for adults. Watch the businesses that get a lot of media coverage over the next few weeks. If you’re hearing that much about a company, a celebrity, or a service, be careful before choosing them or paying for their products – if they have so much time for promotion, it might be because business isn’t so great. Billionaires Take Off to Conquer Space The perfect example of hype right now is space tourism. It’s the battle of the billionaires – Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk – each sharing his version of space tourism with us. What incredible publicity they get. Yet Bezos spent just a few minutes in weightlessness before coming back down to Earth. We’re talking about a new industry that doesn't even exist yet. As for Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, they’re getting worldwide publicity that they could never afford without their high-profile bosses. It’s a perfect example of the Law of Ego or the Law of Hype described by our American friends. And for us, it’s a heaping helping of hype, one that companies with more modest egos cannot serve up. Free consultation. Join our mailing lists for useful updates: www.natapr.com *The fables chosen and set to verse by La Fontaine, known simply as the “Fables of La Fontaine,” are three collections of 243 allegorical fables published by Jean de la Fontainebetween 1668and 1694.Most of these, inspired by the fables of Aesopand Phaedrus,feature anthropomorphicanimals and contain an explicit moral(shared at the beginning or end of the poem) or an implied one.