The Name of the Product: Late Twenteth-Century Celebrity

Joshua Gamson's, analysis of celebrity focuses of the transition between the past and the present status of celebrity culture. He makes a clear distinction between individual achievement, where fame had been acquired through sheer perserverance and, to modernity and the present, where industralised practices and marketing methods have helped develop what is termed as popular 'celebrity culture'.

He identifies the historical change that emerged within the 1940s, and '50s, with a significant change within the entertainment industry, which culminated at the end of a Supreme Court case, involving the 'United States v.Paramount Pictures', where the corporation were forced to cease some production and distribution practices that allowed them to acquire large profits. This was at a bad time for the film industry, which was experiencing difficulties with the emergence of the Television revolution, offering; entertainment from the comfort of the family home.

Gamson, acknowledges that the medium, particularly in America, had become popular with the availability and ownerships of television sets increasing and affecting cinema popularity with cinemas 'struggling to find an audience'. In a desperate attempt to save the industry from collapse, an overhaul of the present system was needed. The changes were dramatic with the rise in 'independent production companies' and the short-term contracting of staff.

The limited number of staff had repercussions on the film industry as less stars were being developed and trained for future films. This opportunity allowed 'talent agents' to take on the tasks that were previously the responsibility of the studios. These agents became important figures, acting as middlemen where they offered a number of services that allowed talent and the celebrity lifestyle to emerge.

However this shift was eventually changed again, when studios realised that colloboration with agents and television would help the film industry. During the same period, the emergence of Public Relations had been marginal and only grew wide acceptance after 'Word War II' where PR evolved into a 'sophisticated communication network'. This emergence proved significant not only for the film inustry but for a number of other mediums, television, newspapers,and radio.

The services the public relations practioners provided increased the branding methods of products and stars, advertising, promotion and sales techiques enhanced products and profiles and increased consumption with more audiences, readers pursuing the artifacts associated with celebrity culture. Class values within the early period were crucial for developing such strategies, but eventually replaced by a much broader system based on other factors of the targeted potential consumers ; religion, sex, etc. By the early 1970s, interest in 'celebrity culture' became a popular way to attract readers. This surge towards 'celebrity' became a potential way for newspapers and magazines to attract readers, and they began writing about 'people' and 'personality' with the success of ' People Magazine in 1974'. Celebrity lifestyle and culture became firmly established within television, radio and newspapers and is still a major part of newspaper, magazine, television, and radio content today.

To add to Gamson's work for the present, the practice of Public Relations, which was started by Edward Barnays (1891-1953) has become a staple part of organisational behavior and is not only limited to media practices, but is included in most business practices today. The present rapidity and development of technology has only strenghtened the practice, by creating a new platform in which strategies, such as: celebrity endorsement and buzz marketing techniques, aggregate methods and monetisation practices all relate to PR in some form or another. The technological age has allowed the PR practices to become fundemental to business success.

To a certain extent, 'celebrity culture' has become firmly embedded into society. Public Relations practioners have become savvy to the benefits of promoting and advertising the benefits of individuals and organisations, so successfully, that the media output is everywhere: on billboards, bus stops, TV advertising, newspaper advertising etc. Influencing and determing the choices we make.