I know it’s popular to thumb your nose at the celeb magazines. Who cares what Brangelina eats for a midnight snack? We are intelligent people who have no interest in digesting such worthless information – right?

WRONG – and here’s why. The average American consumer is influenced heavily by pop culture. Our fascination with celebrities is a huge piece of that pop culture right now. You can use this to your advantage if you’re smart.

Here’s a great example. I’m working on a campaign for Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The Rudd Center released some videos  to help raise awareness about weight bias. As I was blasting them all over the internet I found a rapidly growing story about Jessica Simpson’s weight.  A quick blog by the Rudd Center’s Dr. Rebecca Puhl about the story on Ms. Simpson and BOOM. I immediately got a massive acceleration in the spread of my story online.

Newsworthy is newsworthy, my friends. Whether or not WE think it’s newsworthy is irrelevant – the media decides. If  breaking news is making  headlines don’t ignore it because you think it’s stupid.  If there’s an angle to help create a hook for your message, use it. It doesn’t make you less of a person, I promise.

Besides, I know you read that stuff at the dentist’s office.

P.S. Watch the Rudd Center videos here.