John Tantillo’s Winner and Loser of The Week

Brand Winner...	And Loser...

John Tantillo’s Winner and Loser of The Week: 

Winner:  Rosie O’Donnell

Loser:  Michelle Obama                                                          

Winner: 

Last week we talked about the Ellen DeGeneres brand staying true to itself.  This week it’s Rosie O’Donnell in the winner’s seat.

She’s back after a long stint in the wilderness.  Finally, her brand is being appreciated by Oprah and it looks like she will be back where she belongs, hosting a daytime talk show.

The talk show format is where Rosie thrives.  She won best talk show Emmys five years in a row from 1998 to 2002.

Then she seemed to lose her way as she went from being the Queen of Nice to the Queen of Mean and became far too political.

This was a mistake from a brand perspective because it missed what Rosie is liked for and best at: entertainment.  But it’s a common mistake among celebrities many of whom wrongly begin to think they will be applauded and loved just for getting up in the morning.

When Rosie forgot how she got where she was, she lost her audience.  Now she’s getting a second chance with this show.  If she remembers her roots –and I’ve got a feeling she will— we’re going to see the triumphant second act of a great entertainer.

Stay tuned.

Loser:

Without a doubt, the loser this week is our First Lady, Michelle Obama.

People can try to defend her holiday in Spain, but from a brand perspective it’s indefensible.

Bottom line, if you present your brand one way (i.e., the compassionate woman of a people going through very tough economic times) you simply can’t act another way (i.e., carefree jetsetter on the Costa del Sol).

Folks, in other words no amount of explaining by Robert Gibbs or media apologists is going to change the fact that when Americans are suffered and the Gulf Coasters faced economic ruin because of the BP spill, their First Lady chose Spain to visit at an exorbitant taxpayer cost.

She’s not elected, you say?  Besides the fact that we all know that the First Lady counts politically, let’s look at two other “unelected” brand examples.

The Depression.  Can you imagine Eleanor Roosevelt living the high life in such a visible way while her husband was waging war on the economy and economic inequality?  No way.

World War II.  The Queen Mother stayed in London despite the bombing.  In fact when a bomb fell near the palace she was publicly thankful that they had been bombed because she could then look at the badly bombed East End in the face.  Her consistent behavior won her the love of her people for the rest of her long life.

The point is that brand consistency matters and inconsistency is fatal for a brand’s message.   A boss who tells his employees to work hard but then blatantly lazes around is going to have a problem. 

The thing here is that Michelle Obama’s decision can’t be taken back and it will have lasting consequences.  It will confirm what opponents already think, but worse for the President, it will sow seeds of doubt into their supporters.

Basically, Michelle Obama’s decision just underscores the huge divide between people of her class –educated, professional, wealthy— and the average guy and gal on the street.  Could Eleanor Roosevelt and the Queen Mother done whatever they liked during the tough times they lived through?  You bet they could.  But they didn’t and that makes all the difference.

If Mrs. Obama wants to start turning things around, she’d do well to study the actions of these two great women.  Even so, it’s going to be a tough road to fix her brand.