A distraught Lara Bingle in the height of the media crisis

Lara Bingle gives the finger to the waiting media

The 22 year old has been on the media rollercoaster for the last 3 months after selling her story for $200,000 and has not taken the sharp turns well, damaging many relationships along the way, in particular the already rocky one she held with the public.

Sponsors deserted her in droves after the whole sordid story came out, after all what kind of brand would want to be associated with a train wreck like Bingle? Someone who flips the bird to the media is definitely not the ideal celebrity ambassador. 

 However the ex-fiancée of cricketer Michael Clarke, dumped after revealing her legal proceedings against Brendan Fevola for taking a photo of her in the shower, does seem to have learnt her lesson in dealing with the media. She has sacked her dodgy manager Max Markson and vows to live the quiet life while she rebuilds her brand.

“I know I need to build up people’s respect and I’m going to have to start at the bottom and work up, but that’s what I’ll do” Bingle stated in an interview. See more here.

When a fall from grace and media crisis hits any brand, like it has for Bingle, the best thing to do is always to be 100% honest and admit your mistakes, then lie low and not attract attention for a few months. The public does have a short attention span and quickly move their focus on the next train wreck, as long as you appear genuine and changed by the incident they can be surprisingly forgiving.

Then when the time is right, you can announce your brand’s big comeback, and with a bit of luck all the previous media attention will have cast a new light on your brand as having more depth and character because of the incident. Mark my words in a few months you will see Bingle back as the face of a new set of brands, the Lara Bingle brand is not dead yet.

Do you think Bingle has done the right thing by admitting her mistakes?