Whose stock has plummeted and whose has risen 2008?
It's not just the bankers who need to beware, as this week the UK public has been voting to decide whose celebrity stocks have seen the biggest falls and rises in 2008.
And the results just in reveal that it's been a good year PR-wise for Britney Spears, but not so good news for Amy Winehouse.
To celebrate this week's DVD and Blu-ray release of family blockbuster Hancock, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment carried out a national survey to find out whose public persona has gone from zero to hero in 2008...and vice versa, mirroring Will Smith playing a down-on-his-luck superhero whose public image is transformed thanks to positive PR.
Danny Rogers, editor of PR industry’s bible PR Week commented, “These days with 24 hour rolling media and gossip websites springing up all over the place your reputation is your biggest asset. If you don’t look after it you can end up losing a lot of face and a lot of money.”
No surprises that the person who's suffered the worst PR in 2008, according to the survey, is Camden party girl part time singer Amy Winehouse who scored votes from a third of the adult population (37%) .
Troubled Amy is closely followed by Iceland's very own Kerry Katona receiving over a quarter of the public vote (26%) following her dismal appearance on TV's This Morning and then pantomime villain Jonathan Ross coming in a close third with 21% of the vote.
On the other end of the scale, taking a leaf out of Hancock's book, is the country's favourite flat-footed celebrity dancer John Sargeant, the star of Strictly Come Dancing and one time political heavyweight, who has clearly benefited from some good PR with over a third of the adult population (36%) voting him into top spot. Another reality TV darling, Girl's Aloud's Cheryl Cole closely follows Sergeant with just over a third of the vote (33%) with those surveyed believing the PR surrounding The X Factor has transformed her public image.
Britney "bounce back" Spears has also seen her star rise again after years of disastrous stories about her personal life with 18% of the UK public believing she's finally turned the corner and that good PR - and the help of The X Factor's Simon Cowell - is helping to resurrect her career.
Danny Rogers added, “We live in a very volatile time economically and politically and the media are reflecting this. People’s reputations can be built and destroyed very quickly at the moment.”
Here's the Top 5 results in full:
Profile raised by positive PR
John Sargeant 37%
Cheryl Cole 33%
Britney Spears 18%
Andy Murray 15%
Chris Hoy 11%
Profile lowered by negative PR
Amy Wimehouse 37%
Kerry Katona 26%
Jonathan Ross 21%
Russell Brand 13%
Jennifer Aniston 1%
This survey was carried out by Opinion Matters across 1096 UK adult respondents.
Additional info: Hancock is out on DVD and Blu-ray now
