the universal models

you might think I was going to discuss Stephen Hawkins, or some new IT gadget; no I am interested in much more popular issues: what was the job of Diana? (I hope you dont answer "diana who?" - that would really make me feel old...)

Diana used to be paid by the UK government as princess of wales, but she continued to draw income from the public budget even when she divorced Charles (again, you might interject "charles who?"...) Her main role was to appear at public occasions, have photos taken which reporters would put into newspapers and magazines with stories about her. It was the role of a model (and please dont confuse this with "role model"; role models dont get paid by anyone)

what is the job of Bill Clinton? he used to be a successful politician - he was paid a pitifully small amount compared to Singapore cabinet ministers - runs some sort of foundation from an office in Harlem, and made money from his autobiography, but today his income mainly comes from appearing in public events organized by rich companies and having his photos taken, which reporters will put into newspapers and magazines with stories about him. His wife, however, has a job, and spends most of her time in Washington DC or overseas - they spend little time together, but maintain their marriage like a business brand..

what is the job of Donald Trump? he used to be a near-bankrupt real estate developer, and now comperes some very popular TV shows, but probably receives most income from buildings he does not own but bear his name, which is a bit similar to him, Clinton and many other famous people who publish biographies written by professional ghost writers based on materials they supply - franchising your brand. What does Jack Welch do these days? keeping his brand franchise alive I guess.

I believe it was George Bush Senior who started the practice of using the ex-president brand as a modelling franchise - he received a pile of Global Crossing shares for giving a speech, and for one period of time the shares were worth tens of millions but I believe they later dropped to be worth very little - if I remember correctly Global Crossing was bought out by Starhub... Strangely, I dont recall Ronald Reagan giving speeches for money as ex-president - he would seem to be really suited to this; however, maybe his mind was already deteriorating by 1988 and it would have been bad for his brand to make such public appearances; or maybe we still lived in a more class conscious world at the time, and it was too low class for ex-presidents to market themselves that way. However, today we are used to Pam Anderson and Paris Hilton - you can do anything you like and your brand does not suffer

The Law of Universal Models applies to anyone - fame is money, regardless of age, sex, beauty, talent, education. And you can become famous in all kinds of ways: if you join a singing contest and blurt out "I cant sing", by shouting at a bus driver in HK or rolling on the ground demanding shark fin.. It is just a question of using the fame while it still lasts, by signing up a good public relations firm

Recently Kate Middleton, a graduate of a Scottish university with a corporate job in London, has agreed to join the cast of British Royalty modelling agency. Though her position is not official until next April, her face has already been printed on Royal Wedding mugs, along with that of her partner in this branding venture, William Battenberg Windsor.(Who? well, look it up in Wiki...)

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