03 Apr How social media and clever PR is helping to revive the careers of noughties celebs
Jennifer Coolidge, Shania Twain, and Lindsay Lohan are just some of the noughties celebrities experiencing a career ‘renaissance’.
Fame is fickle and after being seen as ‘Hollywood has-beens’ for a while, several celebs are making firm comebacks with revived careers, in part thanks to clever PR, partnerships and viral social media memes.
Ignored in Hollywood to viral star
After starring in 90s/00s blockbusters Legally Blonde and American Pie, Jennifer Coolidge experienced a career dry spell often being typecast and overlooked for roles.
Coolidge credits pop star Ariana Grande for helping to revive her career when she asked her to star in her 2019 “Thank U, Next” music video, which paid tribute to several cult-classic films. The song is about Ariana’s much talked about ex-boyfriends and the realisations she’s had in the aftermaths of those relationships. The song was an instant hit and broke several records including the most streams in one week for a song led by a woman, with an incredible 93.8 million plays in just seven days.
Then in 2021, Coolidge was cast in TV phenomenon The White Lotus, a HBO series about the guests and employees at a luxury holiday resort. Coolidge was the only cast member to also return for season 2, winning several awards for her performances.
Her role as billionaire heiress, Tanya McQuoid, was met with acclaim and the success of the series was also in part thanks to going viral on social media and in particular, TikTok. The theme tune itself (an off-kilter dance track) became an online phenomenon generating everything from memes to dance routines.
Snippets of Tanya from the show are also arguably the most featured generating several pop culture sayings and memes surrounding her ill-fated yet comedic death at the end of the series.
Credit: @graziauk on Instagram
At 61, Coolidge is currently one of the most talked about celebs proving the power of social media and paving the way for older women in starring roles.
90s diva to Gen-Z icon
After decades of success in the 90s and 00s, with hits including “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” Shania Twain is also experiencing a career renaissance at 57.
After a Netflix documentary last year, a series of clever PR stunts have helped to bring Twain back into the spotlight, generate coverage around her new album and establish her as a Gen-Z icon.
A clip of Twain performing “That Don’t Impress Me Much” but replacing the Brad Pitt lyric for Ryan Reynolds whilst he was sat in the audience recently went viral. Her PR team have also been working hard getting on several mainstream TV shows, as well as online series’ including Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date, where she takes celebrities to eat nuggets and fries whilst asking awkward and random questions.
Credit: @chickenshopdate on Instagram
Twain has also fully embraced her own TikTok account (with 2.5m followers!) where she posts videos of herself performing viral trends and cleverly interacting with a whole new generation of fans.
A revived childhood career
Former child actress, Lindsay Lohan has also recently made a comeback with a Netflix film special in 2022. She also credits social media for helping her to take control of her own narrative after a downward spiral and widespread press scrutiny in the 2000s and 2010s.
The power of social media and PR
These celebs showcase how clever social media and PR campaigns harnessing current trends can help revive a career for the ultimate comeback. From being the butt of a joke to taking things into your own hands, social media and PR stunts allow people to control their own narrative and flip negative messaging on its head. And it’s not just celebs who can bear this in mind, brands can take also take lessons from this – just look at the Aldi Colin the Caterpillar debacle!
If you’re interested in learning how we can help you to create a bespoke social and PR campaign, get in touch: hello@luya.co.uk