Sydney Sweeney throwing handfuls of her underwear to country-yodelling crowds is a sentence that will get anyone’s attention.
But don’t be fooled. It wasn’t a bizarre moment that ‘just happened’, rather it was purposefully orchestrated to draw headlines for the actress’ own lingerie brand SYRN.
In a world where attention is the most expensive currency, celebrities are going to extraordinary lengths to compete for a permanent spot in our collective memory.
Watch the video above.
The 28-year-old’s recent publicity stunt was tame in comparison to her last attempt.
In January, the Euphoria star fronted the possibility of facing vandalism charges when she climbed the Hollywood sign to hang SYRN bras from it despite being given no authority to do so.
She got off scot-free with Jeff Zarrinnam, head of the Hollywood Sign Trust, claiming parts of the footage were digitally altered.
While some have called Sweeney’s Hollywood sign and lingerie toss gimmicks as “desperate”, there’s no denying they’ve been successful at what they set out to do – get people talking.
READ MORE: Fans slam millionaire actor’s ‘out of touch’ advice
READ MORE: Taylor Swift sends fans into meltdown with single move
READ MORE: Danielle Spencer leads the Aussie stars at APRA Music Awards
PR teams no longer have the option of being safe and ignored instead they have to be risky to be remembered. Or do they?
There are plenty of instances where celebrities, brands and causes have gone a step too far all in the name of publicity.
Poonam Pandey’s ‘death’ stunt
In one of the most controversial moves of the decade, Bollywood actress Poonam Pandey faked her own death to millions of followers on Instagram to “raise awareness” for cervical cancer.
In 2024 a statement was published on Pandey’s social media announcing she had “bravely fought the disease” and died.
Obituaries from media outlets followed and fellow Bollywood stars posted mournful tributes to her.
The then 32-year-old reappeared alive and well 24 hours later and revealed in another video that her death had, in fact, been a hoax.
“Yes, I faked my demise, extreme I know. But suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren’t we?” Pandey said.
The backlash was nuclear with one commenter describing her behaviour as “attention seeking” and another saying the stunt was “unethical and manipulative”.
Despite thousands calling shame on Pandey she stuck to her guns saying, “I am proud of what my death news has been able to achieve.”
Oprah’s free chicken fiasco
When Oprah Winfrey used her television show to debut KFC’s new menu item, the Kentucky Grilled Chicken, in 2009, it was a marketing win for the fast food brand.
The talk show host promoted an offer to her viewers that for 24 hours they could download a coupon from her website to redeem a free menu item.
It sounded non-problematic until KFC realised they’d massively underestimated Winfrey’s star power and they were unable to satisfy the demand for the offer.
Locations across the US ran out of chicken, while other customers complained they couldn’t even get to the website to download the coupon in the first place.
Within days the celebrity promotion backfired and an overwhelmed KFC cancelled it all together.
Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi protest
The model’s Pepsi commercial has perhaps become the gold standard of tone-deaf PR and a lesson that audiences value authenticity over name power.
The 2017 soft drink ad campaign depicted Jenner joining a protest and seemingly defusing tensions by handing police officers one can of soda.
Whatever the intentions were the ad was immediately slammed with critics accusing Pepsi of appropriating a protest movement following police shootings of African Americans.
The ad was pulled off air after just one day.
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologise,” Pepsi wrote in a statement.
50 Cent sues Taco Bell
Taco Bell should’ve known better than to get on 50 Cent’s bad side.
The rapper’s lawsuit against food chain Taco Bell serves as a grim reminder that if you’re going to use a celebrity for publicity you have to ask them first.
In 2008 Taco Bell used the musician’s name and image without permission to promote a ‘Why Pay More’ ad campaign.
It featured a fake letter asking 50 Cent to change his name to 79, 89, or 99 Cent.
The campaign led people to believe 50 Cent endorsed the brand himself and he faced backlash for “selling out”.
50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, sued Taco Bell for $5.5 million.
The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount with both parties agreeing to cover their own legal fees.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
