So, Justin Bieber’s in the news. Yes, that craaaaazy 19-year-old superstar is at it again. The over-exposed victim of his own success was caught racing down a Miami street in his bright yellow Lamborghini at 4am. Apparently he’d had some marijuana and (dramatic dahn-dahn-daaaaaaahn music) “a beer”. Whoa! Easy there, tiger!
“I blame the parents,” some would say. Well, yes, you would…if it hadn’t been Bieber’s own father who was allegedly in one of the SUVs blocking off the street so that his son could race in the first place. Brilliant.
I’ll be honest, I’m not remotely surprised by the story, but nor do I give two hoots either – which, coincidentally, Bieber probably did give at the start of the race. But what’s prompted me to put my virtual pen to paper about it is the complete drivel I heard on BBC Radio 4 the following day.
They’d got hold of some Hollywood showbiz publicist or pundit (or some such other person whose job it is to be a kind of a paid Gossip Girl) who expressed grave concerns about how damaging this incident would be to Bieber’s career and teeny-pop fanbase.
"Justin makes most of his money from people who are younger than him, who look up to him and see him as this clean-cut guy," she said. "Now that he's getting arrested and put in jail, I think he's going to lose a lot of his fanbase – as well as parents who are going to say 'I don't want my kids buying his merchandise'."
Codswallop – on many levels. For a start, even the best kids love a bad boy, and they love to rebel against their parents. Buying a Justin Bieber song and playing it secretly with headphones on is a pretty minor way in which to challenge parental rule.
Secondly, tales of his sexual exploits didn’t seem to do him any harm at all. And of course, as the saying goes, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Bieber is all over the news across the globe. He’s a media mogul’s dream. More exposure generally leads to a bigger fanbase. So who’s losing out?
That aside, if we’re going to suggest that any of his behaviour is going to alienate him from his young fanbase, this latest incident is nothing compared to turning up to his London gigs so late that many of his young followers had to leave to catch their trains home just moments after he eventually started performing. THAT is going to lose you followers, not driving a car whilst on some pretty soft drugs.
In spite of the clean-cut image (heck, even his police mugshot, above, could be made into a poster), Bieber does have a reputation as being a bad boy. I mean, this guy is BAD. He’s been in trouble with da law before, you see. Yes indeedy. Earlier this month he was questioned over a crime so bad-ass and heinous that it’s a miracle he bounced back from it…
He was accused of throwing eggs at his neighbour’s house.
Jeez, he’s lucky he isn’t in Guantanamo.
Appealing to the right demographic is at the core of all advertising. And let’s make no mistake: Bieber is a product being sold. True, there is no point whacking a thumping R&B tune onto a campaign for Saga Holidays. But brands do evolve and their target audience does change. Brand Bieber may have got to the ripe old age of 19, but so have a lot of his followers. Will the fast cars, sneaky joint and one beer hurt him? My guess – not in the slightest.
Ashley is a copywriter, editor and blogger
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