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Miley Cyrus: A mistake or shrewd public relations?

BY VERNE GAY | verne.gay@newsday.com

April 29, 2008

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Was Miley Cyrus' near-topless photo a bungled publicity shoot or shrewd marketing ploy? Or - if you could turn down the volume on the deafening water-cooler kibitzing yesterday to catch a bit more nuance - maybe a little bit of both?

Marketing and media experts yesterday suggested Cyrus' Vanity Fair photo spread was probably part of a staged effort to broaden her image beyond the tightly drawn "Hannah Montana" character that has bound her to millions of preteen girls.

The only problem: Someone in the Cyrus camp forgot to tell Disney, and those fans, about the photos first. That may be where the bungling comes in, because Cyrus is trying to distance herself ever so slightly from Hannah just as a "Montana" feature is due out this summer, even as ratings for the once-hot Disney Channel fixture have cooled.

"It's not without precedent that a child star gets to a point in a career where management looks to evolve his or her image a little," says Sean Cassidy, president of New York-based public relations giant DKC. "I don't want to imply that's what's at work here, but the intent may have arguably been to release what they believe are tasteful photos and position them in an adult format as opposed to a child one. Child stars run out of race track, careerwise, if they don't effectively transition to adulthood, but ... the audience that likes Hannah Montana is an audience that may find the other objectionable."

Mick McCabe, chief strategy officer of advertising firm Deutsch New York, an expert in brand positioning, said of the photos, "if it's not a transition [then] it's preparation for a transition. She won't be 15 for the rest of her life and the years will pass by pretty quickly, so it makes sense."

And, he added, "The media choice is very specific: Vanity Fair and [photographer] Annie Leibovitz. It can't get any more Future Hollywood than that." But any damage may be fleeting because "it's a good testing of the water," he said.

The question may be: where do those waters lead?

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