Photo:Mike Schmid, Creative Commons, Flickr
It really cracks me up to hear talking heads on TV proclaiming that Miley Cyrus threatens Disney’s "wholesome image."
On the surface Disney (DIS – Last trade $32.43) might seem wholesome, but don’t be fooled. Everyone knows that ol’ Uncle Walt was a probably a right-wing bigot, and don’t forget about the Vanessa Hudgens scandal, and what about Jessica Rabbit? Is she "wholesome" enough for you?
Photo:diabetesisfun, Creative Commons, Flickr
Walt Disney’s Chinese underwear ads make the Miley Cyrus pictures look like a Sunday school picnic, and Disney owns some not so family-friendly companies, including Touchstone, Miramax, E! etc. For fun, nutty writer William S. Burroughs used to shoot posters of Mickey Mouse with a double-barreled shotgun. Like many people, he probably knew there was something sinister about the sugar, spice and all things nice associated with Disney.
When it comes to Miley Cyrus, I must confess I had my doubts about her. When I saw her drink a bottle of ketchup on the tonight show with Jay Leno I thought she wanted to show all of America that white, southern, country music fans were as stupid as they’re already rumored to be. But she deserves credit for the way she has dealt with the almost-scandal. Damage control 101: Blame the media!
"Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," Disney said in a statement. "After all, who will your loving fans believe: you, portraying yourself as a victim of media manipulation, or a pack of sleazy, do-anything-for-a-headline journalists?" asks Jon Friedman in a recent Dow Jones column.
Don’t underestimate the importance of Miley Cyrus. The Hannah Montana brand, built on her image, includes 15 million related books sold, two multi-platinum records, a sold-out concert tour and film, as well as fan gear, like lunch boxes, bed sheets and MP3 players. Reports in the New York Times and New York Post suggest that if her popularity continues to grow, the teen star could be worth $1 billion by the time she is 18. Disney has a market cap of $61 billion, which means that Miley Cyrus could one day represent 1.7% of Disney’s total market value.
Here’s my take: Miley Cyrus is an important asset, and Disney must make sure that the asset remains relevant for as long as possible. Like it or not, Miley Cyrus will grow up. And do you seriously think the tabloids in 2015 will be writing about a goody-goody twenty something girl that once had a popular TV show when she was 15 years old? The scandal is probably engineered by Disney to generate more publicity for Cyrus, and the photo lays the foundation for her transition, and the brand’s transition, to adulthood.
Letting Miley grow up is an important step Disney needs to take with the Miley Cyrus brand, since she isn’t going to be little angel forever. As long as the billion dollar Hannah Montana brand grows up with Miley Cyrus, Disney is making bank. By laying the groundwork for Miley’s sexual awakening, whether it was deliberately planned or not, Disney has managed to squeeze out a few extra years out of Miley Cyrus’ fame. That’s why you should be buying Disney every time Miley Cyrus shows some skin.
I’m not too worried about Miley Cyrus destroying the Disney brand. But I am worried about Billy Ray Cyrus using his daughter’s success to breath life into his own country music career. That may be infinitely worse.
Disclosure: I don’t own DIS.