The Magic Make-Over Dust

Americans, comfortably accustomed to instant news on a nonstop news cycle, also now get equally constant image make-overs of famous people who encounter, shall we say, difficulties. Make-overs are staples of the cosmetic and hairstyling industries. Now, PR pros apply similar strategies to restore, reconfigure and rebuild the public images of people who get into trouble and in the news and want to get out of both. Those of us watching casually might miss or forget the previous troubled image, which, of course, is the point of any make-over.

“Live” news shots, the Internet, cell phones, newspapers and glossy entertainment shows covering news as entertainment can instantly create common nationwide topics of mass gossip and opinion, some of it informed. Who hasn’t seen Rep. Gary A. Condit recently, walking briskly, suit coat in hand? Remember Monica Lewinsky struggling through a crowd? What they and others did and didn’t do instantly makes the national chatter agenda. We crave it, share it. Late-night comedians fan it and twist it. Cable news recycles it. This all provides a regular cast of “good” and “bad” guys to cheer for or against.

Make-over attempts come faster now. Presidents Nixon and Carter took several years to shed old images--one for subterfuge, the other ineffectiveness. Now, new images can take only several months to forge. Prince Charles was a bad guy not long ago; now, he kisses his mistress in public. Pee-wee Herman and Marv Albert had police problems; now, both have new TV jobs.

At any moment an array of celebrities is working through different stages in image make-overs--denial, defiance, seclusion (where Paula Poundstone is now), counseling, contrition (often coming in a carefully selected TV interview), then proactive rehab.

President Clinton went through all the stages after l’affaire Monica and now pulls down $100,000 per speech. Ms. Lewinsky herself came clean to Barbara Walters and is in business for herself. Linda Tripp got plastic surgery, then a sympathetic hearing from Larry King, a favored stage for contrition. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a counselor during Clinton’s post-Monica seclusion, sought seclusion himself after his own affair became public. Sen. Hillary Clinton has changed jobs, attitudes, hairstyles and, now, images.

Consultants provide damage control. The goal: First, dilute bad news, then replace it with positive. They count on Americans’ short memory and TV’s shorter attention span. This spring we monitored Robert Blake’s days. Now, who was that? Condit’s PR folks would have us believe he cooperated with police from the start. If you weren’t paying attention back then, that might seem credible now.

Some images are set. Lassie will forever rescue idiot human friends caught in quicksand or burning barns. Robert Downey Jr. seems typecast as a recidivist. But Charlie Sheen went from wild one to funny one. And during Tuesday’s All-Star Game careful viewers saw a smiling Barry Bonds, once the king of sullen, joking on camera with Tommy Lasorda. With lucrative endorsements at issue, consultants know companies prefer the Michael Jordans to the Dennis Rodmans.