Another Case of Tasteless PR: Eva Amurri’s “Californication” Nude Campaign



2009 August, 19th
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
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Not long ago I expressed my concern about how female celebrities brand themselves – using their body as tools, instead of lobbying for their talents. This is a phenomenon that will never end: female actresses, singers, fighters and other entertainers will always be exploited (or sell themselves) like this. A nude body is the ultimate attraction factor for the male public and the opposite sex is about just as curious.

Eva Amurri, will appear nude for the first time during the third season of Californication – this is no accident as she is interpreting a stripper. But the “nude campaign” she uses to promote her appearance is beyond tasteless in my view. A role is a role, a PR campaign is many times a bait. Right now Californication sounds a lot like the title of an X-rated hardcore movie. I bet the “fornication” in Californication is no accident – the plot is pretty obvious: David Duchovny is a novelist with sex and drug addictions who is struggling to raise his daughter half the time, while having problems with his ex-girlfriend.

Of course, for a movie called Californication that has the plot of a hardcore, a “nude campaign” makes sense, but the main actor of this campaign is the daughter of an artist who never needed tasteless PR to promote herself: Susan Sarandon. Mrs. Sarandon appeared nude in a few movies as well Pretty Baby (1978), The Hunger (1983), Bull Durham (1988), White Palace(1990).

Mrs. Amurri needs a PR boost now – her filmography is far from being as impressive as her mother’s or David Duchovny’s. Her previous roles are too trivial to convince the public of her (acting) talent. A stripper’s role in Californication will not make the actress a second Susan Sarandon either. A PR campaign based on sex and sexuality will only gain momentary buzz – no one will remember the performance of an actress who is popular due to her mother’s past, and definitely no one will remember an actress who counts on her performance in a sitcom to “make waves.”

I do not doubt Mrs. Amurri talent – my point is that talent is easily overlooked when the eye is focused on the body. I am sure she prepared herself for the role as any professional would: she studied strippers and their lives and she sees them in a different light now (according to her own testimony for The New York Observer)

“I have such a respect now for women who do this. It’s very athletic, I mean, they’re athletes! It was so hard and so painful. It’s like getting rug-burn, but a pole burn on your thighs. I had so many bruises. Eventually, I started wearing knee pads to rehearsals.”

“Men are naked as much as the women are on that show, which I really like. If you’re going to be naked, at least it’s equal-opportunity nudity,” Ms. Amurri said. “And you know, I’m 24. If I’m going to be naked anywhere, I should really do it sooner rather than later. It’s pretty much as good as it’s going to get.”

Sure, being naked for a role is not a big deal anymore – but what the actress seems to ignore is that this is probably not the best way to promote herself before actually having a role that hits the box office.

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Liliana Dumitru-Steffens is public relations consultant for Pamil Visions PR. She writes for Everything PR since January 2009. Previously she worked for My-tronic GmbH and Unilever Romania. Email Liliana at lsteffens [at] pamil-visions [dot] net.

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There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Kathleen Keegan on 19 August 2009:

    While I respect your rights to your opinion on this subject, I wish you’d have gotten some of your facts in your article straight as well. Californication is not a film; it’s a US cable television series which airs on Showtime. And the character David Duchovny plays in it is neither a sex NOR a drug addict. Yes, he is seen imbibing on occasion in drugs and alcohol, but he has never been portrayed as an addict, compelled uncontrollably to seek either. And the sex he’s seen engaging in with women is almost ALWAYS initiated by the women themselves. He just rarely finds reason to turn them down (though he has in a couple of instances, much to his own surprise). But what red-blooded, single male would?

    Have you ever even watched the show? Watched more than one or two episodes? You might want to get your facts in order the next time before passing judgment on a topic you clearly show you know little about. It’s called responsible journalism, a term many journalists these days also seem to know little about.

  2. Comment by Mihaela Lica on 19 August 2009:

    Kathleen, I am afraid the article is not about the show (the author does point out that this was a sitcom) – the article is about the Eva Amurri and the way she promotes herself. In my opinion, the article has all the facts straight.

  3. Comment by Kathleen Keegan on 19 August 2009:

    I understand that the article is not about the show. And I stand corrected on the author’s categorization of it being a sitcom, but she’s still completely incorrect about Duchovny’s character being a sex and drug addict. Her facts are not all straight.

  4. Comment by Mihaela Lica on 19 August 2009:

    I don’t think Liliana ever watched the show, Kathleen, it is not running in Germany yet. If she wrote that Duchovny’s character is a sex and drug addict this could be the impression she’s got from reading other reviews. :) I am sure she will make the proper updates when she sees your comments.

  5. Comment by JAS on 20 August 2009:

    All I can say is get off your soapbox, both HBO & Showtime have “mainly” ADULT programs and if you aren’t adult enough to handle them don’t watch them. Simple as that.

  6. Comment by Phil Butler on 20 August 2009:

    JAS, Thanks for the stimulating opinion. We will examine our sentimentality, ideologies, and inner selves soon to determine if we are in fact ADULT enough for this world. Meanwhile, we would be helpless without our soapbox, so we will stand atop it until a better pulpit is made available. :)

    Always,
    Phil

  7. Comment by Liliana Dumitru-Steffens on 22 August 2009:

    Kathleen, thank you for the comments. I didn’t mean to say that Californication was a movie, I merely used figure of speech to make a parallel between the title and the way the actress conducts her PR campaign.

    You are right, I never watched the series, and frankly I don’t care to watch it because of the way it’s “sold.”

  8. Comment by Kathleen Keegan on 24 August 2009:

    That’s all fine and good that you don’t wish to watch the show, but if you are going to write about it, the least you can do is to make sure your facts are accurate. Your remarks about the Hank Moody character being a sex and drug addict are incorrect.

  9. Comment by Jonathan on 18 September 2009:

    I’m sorry, but I really don’t think the thesis of this article holds any water. I understand that the selling of a show using the nudity of its cast members is disappointing to say the least, the idea that this is in some way her decision to promote herself through her nudity shows a total lack of understanding in the marketing films in the U.S. and the way a film junket works.

    I’ve worked several of these, both on the hosting end and as an interviewer or producer. I can tell that almost everytime, the issue of nudity is one brought up by the interviewer, not as a point of interest suggested by the talent.

    Any time a vaguely successful, attractive actor (man or woman) is announced to be starring in an HBO or SHOWTIME series, one of the first questions they are asked is “Will you be doing nudity?”

    This is probably from the point that in regards to most television in the United States, nudity is a no-no, sometimes punishable by severe fines (see the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident). What you see as her blatant self-promotion in terms of her removing her clothes, i see as just an honest answer to a film reporter’s boring question.

    Taking the responsibility of the questions out of her hands, which I don’t understand how they could have come into her hands in the first place, and there is really no argument to be made that she is choosing to promote herself in what you call a “tasteless” way. Did you want her to dodge the question? As you said, she’s not her mother, she doesn’t have the luxury of just having to not answer an interviewer’s question at a junket or in an interview.

    I would also wager with you, that Pretty Baby was released today, for the first time, Susan Sarandon would be answering the very same questions her daughter is answering today.