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The saying goes "any publicity is good publicity", and increasingly we are flashed with celebrities like reality star and model Kendall Jenner's bare bum in our newsfeeds to garner our attention.
But for superstars and million-dollar brands, the motto can be a double-edged sword that questions how far a celebrity is willing to go for fame.
Sydney-based publicist Max Markson has worked with the heavyweights of superstardom.
His clientele has included international names such as actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, the late South African revolutionary and former president Nelson Mandela and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Mr Markson's key piece of advice for celebrities is to maximise any opportunity.
"You just have to have people talking about you or knowing about you," Mr Markson said.
"You need to be current, if you're not, and no-one does talk about you, then you're forgotten."
But in the age of multiple social media platforms and every day people such as bloggers having their own time in the spotlight, the competition is becoming increasingly difficult.
Mr Markson said celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, who emerged from child stardom, chopped off her golden locks and swapped her sequined Hannah Montana tracksuit for a latex two-piece, needed to keep momentum going by constantly reinventing themselves.
"To be a star in the first place you're really driven for fame," he said.
"You're only as good as your last story ... if you do something one day, you've got to keep going. You've got it. Keep it up."
Celebrity stunts pushing moral boundaries
University of Adelaide Marketing senior lecturer Steven Goodman said the pressure to stand out led people to push moral and ethical boundaries.
"If we look at the award shows in recent times where the Rihannas and Kardashians of the world turn up in less and less [clothes], it becomes about shock value because if there's no shock value, their photo is not going to be in the paper," Dr Goodman said.
"The fact is, there is intense pressure on people to stay relevant.
"Every now and then we'll see people who just go 'no, I've had enough of that. I can't do this anymore. I can't sell my soul anymore'."
He said blurring lines were also shifting society's moral compass.
"We are seeing behaviour normalised, the more and more the boundaries are pushed," Dr Goodman said.
"The same as anyone gets desensitised and anything gets normalised, for them [celebrities], they become desensitised and it becomes normalised behaviour to them as well."
Moral questions 'not considered' by marketing
Dr Goodman said marketing people did not consider the greater impact on morality because it would become a question of whether they should do something or not.
He pointed out that said scandals did not necessarily have a negative effect on consumer appeal.
"Like the example with Kendall Jenner and Pepsi, where a lot of people were saying that's a really dumb idea ... well the fact is, [we're] seeing her with a Pepsi in her hand [and] talking about her," Dr Goodman said.
"From Pepsi's point of view, all people were seeing was Kendall Jenner with a Pepsi in her hand and thinking, 'Oh, she likes Pepsi'."
He also pointed to examples like American actor Charlie Sheen's televised breakdown, Kanye West's award show debacle and Britney Spear's shaving her head, as being moments criticised by media but which, in fact, increased their consumer following.
And according to a study by Stanford Graduate School of Business, the mockery of the country Kazakhstan in the film Borat saw a 300 per cent increase in requests for information about the country on Hotels.com.
"Within the bounds of what's ethical and legal, a marketing person has set an objective to reach and within ethical and legal bounds, they'll design the marketing to meet an objective," Dr Goodman said.
Topics: community-and-society, fashion, arts-and-entertainment, adelaide-5000, sydney-2000, sa, australia
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