Distinguishing between Advertising and PR

I believe that most people heard about the controversy last year when Grey's Anatomy cast member Isaiah Washington was rumored to have called fellow cast member T.R Knight the "F" word, a slur for his sexual orientation. I thought that the publicity steps that he took in response to the attention that the incident received were interesting. I think it is a good example of how to use public relations to create, or in this case, fix an image of yourself without paying for it.

In this video clip, Washington used their few moments of spotlight, after the show won a Golden Globe, to attempt to clear the air and fix his image. However, the attempt only seemed to upset the public more.



When this attempt failed he turned to advertising in the form of a spokesperson. He made a public service anouncement for the GLAAD organization, which is the lesbian and gay alliance against defamation. While this was technically advertising because it was a commercial, he used it in a PR effort to fix his tainted image. By speaking out for an organization like this, he hoped to show what he had learned and how he had changed. While this may have been advertisement for the GLAAD organization and its mission, it definitely acts as a publicity outlet for Washington, just like the Golden Globes.



I think that this is a good example of all of the different forms that pr can come in, even when it is disguised as advertising.