Marketing and all things related

The tabloids and entertainment magazines are scrambling to report about Vernon Winfrey's proposed tell-all book about his daughter, Oprah.  Tell-all books are not a new thing, but when they're written by a celebrity and business mogel's father, the stakes get significantly higher.  TV Squad reports the title is speculated to be Things Unspoken leaving the world to suspect many secrets will be revealed about Oprah Winfrey's private life in this book.

The question is how will the release of a tell-all book from a source who can be assumed to be in-the-know affect the Oprah Winfrey brand?  Oprah and her company, Harpo Productions, have a solid brand image that was built over the course of many years.  She has been forthcoming with many personal aspects of her life, which has only increased her popularity.  Are there secrets Vernon Winfrey could divulge that could damage or destroy the Oprah brand?

We've seen other celebrities with strong brand images survive bad press.  Martha Stewart is perhaps the most recent example.  She bounced back from public embarrasment and as a result, her brand is stronger than it was before her jail sentence. 

I'm betting Oprah can withstand just about anything her father might expose in Things Unspoken.  The Popular Culture Blog at Families.com posted a great article that delves into more of the details on this story including Oprah's reaction when learning from a gossip column that her father had a tell-all book proposal in the works and Vernon Winfrey's response upon being confronted by the media.  It's an interesting read and makes one wonder if Things Unspoken will ever come to fruition.