Jessica Alba plasters great white shark awareness poster over United Way billboard in Oklahoma

In the non-profit realm, funding is always scarce. In fact, the cost of many advertising mediums, such as billboards, are underwritten or sponsored by companies and individuals.

Now the peculiar question arises. What happens when a celebrity defaces a corporate message, which was provided by stakeholders, by arbitrarily plastering posters of sea-life awareness to the very poster serving as a United Way corporate vehicle, in a state that is not even touched by sea water or threatened by attacks from the animal she is attempting to raise awareness of?

This story isn’t made up. Nor is it being taken lightly by Oklahoma City police. Ms. Alba is currently under investigation. You can read the story on TMZ, where the picture was taken from, by clicking here.

So what does it all mean?
Ms. Alba’s vaulting ambition and vandalism, based on a snap decision to endorse a shark-saving campaign, will attract a large media spotlight and will inevitably, with or without police apprehension, place her in the court of public opinion. This gives way to reputation management. How does she restore her image and to whom does she appeal to?

Since she has already acted on the incident, I believe she has three options. Do nothing is always an option but will not be considered because she has begun communicating and apologizing. She can either continue communicating directly to the public, continue to evidently endorse the ‘great white shark awareness’ program or endorse United Way and communicate through them.

Communicating to the public will only go so far because people demand action. And if she does not practice humility in her action and response, the public will humili-ATE her. Continuing to endorse this shark campaign will hurt her image because her reckless advocacy was conducted illegally, it damaged her reputation and she can potentially end up with fines or community service requirements. Communicating through United Way as a means of repairing her reputation will benefit both parties.

Ms. Alba has apologized immediately and offered to pay for the cost of the billboard. Her addressing the issue as soon as possible was critical in gaining the first-mover advantage. She came forward, admitted her wrong doings and filled the media vacuum with first hand information before rumors could emerge and spiral out of control.

What could she do to save her image?
This is one man’s opinion, but if I were managing her public relations I would advise the following:

Publically drop the shark support – It is irrelevant especially in Oklahoma, she has no past advocacy and spurt of the moment endorsement decisions can land celebrities like her in a lot of hot water.

Clean up her fishy festivities – She should assist in breaking down the defaced billboard and help workers fist-hand in constructing a new United Way billboard, which she paid the cost for. This action in particular will speak louder than an apology, no matter how many times she says, “I’m sorry.”

Empathize with United Way publically – Get in to the field office covering Oklahoma City and learn the facts of how United Way works and communicate publically. Public relations works as a revolving door. The PR person helps deliver the corporate speech, interprets the public(s) and delivers reactions and feelings to management, advising management by making predictions that more often than not come true. Coincidently, this will apply to Ms. Alba, even if she will not need to perform community service as legal penance. She can easily restore her image by working with United Way as a communicator (not a spokesperson). She easily can advocate in the Oklahoma City area or her hometown, or wherever for that matter. Her celebrity status and her current fixation within the media/social spotlight will draw attention to her actions, benefiting both causes – United Way and Ms. Alba’s reputation.

Where the rubber meets the road
United Way is receiving more press because of this incident. While Ms. Alba’s actions may be unbecoming of a celebrity or considered a misdemeanor in the courts, she has offered to cover the cost of damages and take responsible steps since the action occurred. I believe United Way should reach out to Ms. Alba and collaborate on community improvement. Who knows, maybe the next billboard will have her good friend Jaws sporting a LIVE UNITED t-shirt, showing his pearly whites saying GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER. SAVE SHARKS.