Pr

Most of us have favorite celebrities that we have admired for years. We take a liking in almost everything they do, and even sometimes get caught up in their personal lives. We perceive them as genuine people with ethical views much similar to our own. However, there are times that the identity we perceive a person to have, turns out to be fallacious. Sometimes, when a person of celebrity status does something that seems to contradict their ethical views, they have to earn their publics respect back. In doing so, their publicists may create a campaign to create a new identity for them.

Many people know Mel Gibson for his stellar record in Hollywood, with roles such as ones in "Lethal Weapon," and directing/producing 2004's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ." But Mel Gibson has a record of a different kind. On July 28th, 2006, Mel Gibson was arrested on the suspicion of a DUI. (1 - Anderson, B. 2006. Cnn.com) When officers approached Gibson, they smelled alcohol on his breath, and a Breathalyzer test showed that his blood-alcohol content was 0.12. (1 - Anderson, B. 2006. Cnn.com) While being questioned by the police, Gibson went on a rampage hurling religious epithets. He launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements including "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." (2 - 2006. TMZ.com) After the incident, Gibson made a statement to the public apologizing for his actions. He further said he has long battled alcoholism, and "I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health." (2 - 2006. TMZ.com)

The smartest thing for Mel Gibson to do would be to turn to Public Relations. PR has a lot to do with creating an image and maintaining it. When a situation occurs, such as the one involving Mel Gibson; PR practitioners must work hard to maintain their favorable publics as well as the image of the person or organization that is perceived by them. In doing this, practitioners may develop many different strategies in order to determine what approach to take regarding their publics. In Mel Gibson's case, the first thing he did was apologize stating, "I acted like a person completely out of control saying things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable, I am deeply ashamed of everything I said." (1 - Anderson, B. 2006. Cnn.com) Apologizing is a very small step in gaining back your publics respect. One thing that a PR practitioner might do is to find out what the publics attributed identity of the person is, after the situation has occurred. They may consider conducting a survey through means of the internet to see how much the public's opinion of Mel Gibson has changed.

One of the great things about Public Relations is the ability it has on creating relationships with publics, over any other means of communication, such as advertising and marketing. In Mel Gibson's situation, PR practitioners may consider developing a campaign to give him an image makeover. There are many different campaigns that could be effective in his situation, such as: a Formation Campaign (helping to form a favorable attitude,