When does putting your name behind something become too much?

The other night I was watching the move "Love Happens" starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Anniston; good chick flick, I would totally recommend it! For those who haven't seen it yet, Eckhart plays a self-help guru on overcoming the death of a loved one, and puts on these "group therapy" conventions for those wanting to move past the grieving, and get on to the healing. His character is very successful and wrote a book and is touring across the country.

There is a scene where Eckhart's character "Burke Ryan" is meeting with a few marketing executives from this major network that want's to take his tour to another level by offering all kinds of marketing collateral to his fans and would-be convention goers. They marketed him to death - and the pun is that his character reaches out to people who have experienced death of a loved one. This scene just made my stomach turn.

Not about the death stuff - about marketing his character to death! I understand this was a movie and certain scenes or acts were exaggerated just because it's Hollywood and they can do that; but, my gawd did it make me realize how this actually does happen in real life! (reference my previous blog on Kim Kardashian).

So I tried searching for the scene with hopes of inserting a clip, but with all this advanced technology going around I somehow couldn't find it! My words will just have to suffice (it is after all, a Blog! Lol). So, these actors that play the marketing execs are excited about taking Burke Ryan to the next level. They're not just talking about a syndicated television talk show, they're bringing in products left, right, and center. These products all have Burke Ryan's face on it (so that people can recognize him); they are all associated with "motivating the end-user" and act as a "self-help" product; the marketing products all relate to the "industry" of death (I am trying to remember specifically all the products that are pitched to him, but my memory eludes me right now).

The one product that stands out is the "Burke Ryan Weight Loss Protein Powder" (Omg I am laughing at the thought of how real this is!). The marketers had done some research in to the industry of death and discovered that mourners, the majority of them, gain weight during this process. So, the idea is that not only will this protein powder help you lose weight, you will be motivating yourself out of the grieving process every time you look at the container with Burke Ryan's face on it! In addition to that, you will be reading Burke Ryan's number one selling book while on the treadmill. Lol this actually happens y'all!

Clean cut example of where a capitalistic nature takes over and confuses itself with marketing. The two are not one in the same. Please, please, please do not ever mistake marketing for this. If some of you do this, shame on you!

I realize that Hollywood tends to exaggerate scenarios, but, I think in this case, the scene was playing on reality. Some examples off the top of my head: Kim Kardashian, Heidi Montag Pratt, Paris Hilton, Kate Gosselin (and the list can go on).

Bottom line, do not market yourself to death. If your message is clear, concise, and to the point, you won't need to invest in gimmicks. That's just desperate.