The Use of Celebrities

The use of celebrity to advance your cause in the court of public opinion is often decried, with observers questioning the value of celebrity endorsers on... well, virtually everything.

But from Clooney in Darfur to Damon on clean water, y'know what? It works.

An article in today's New York Times, here, offers further proof, courtesy of John Slattery, James Gandolfini, Jennifer Connelly and other celebs who are lending their voice to a local New York City issue -- an attempt to change a city's plans to place a large garbage truck depot on Manhattan's west wide. The TriBeCa Community Association, in fact, has filed a lawsuit to stop the new garage from being built. Interestingly, the city's plan come as a result of a 2005 settlement in another lawsuit over the placement of these garbage truck garages lodged by another community group, the Friends of Hudson River Park (almost seems a bit Life of Brian-esque, eh?).

For my perspective, the point is this: when a legal dispute touches on a matter of public interest, elements that raise the story above the everyday din can have a huge impact on the case and its ultimate resolution -- particularly when the court of law may not be the most important actor in that resolution (pardon the pun).

To wit: from the Times article, a quote from a community organizer trying to get a meeting with New York City Mayor Bloomberg on the garbage depot issue:

We couldn’t get an entree into the mayor’s office until Gandolfini got involved, and suddenly the door was open,” Mr. Barrett said.