The marketing genius of the Duck Dynasty "controversy"

There is nothing quite like a made-for-television drama. Unless you have been living under a rock or in prison, you have heard people flapping their lips for the past month about Duck Dynasty and the Robertson clan that stars in the “reality” television show. The show features the same old stupid you can find on the Kardashians, but with lots more facial hair and camouflage instead of couture. Clan patriarch Phil Robertson took to the pages of GQ to mouth off about religion, homosexuality, race, and his love of guns. Controversy and hilarity ensued.

The Robertsons put other reality stars to shame.

Phil and the gang are reality television royalty when it comes to making money. They make the Kardashians and silicon-laden Real Housewives look like amateurs.

They made millions on selling their Duck Commander brand of mating calls for hapless waterfowl. Their net wealth hit the 9-figure range when they scored a hunting show on the Outdoor channel. It was the perfect marketing gambit. Before long, their line of hunting apparel and quacking gadgets was sold in Walmart stores across the nation and they were living on a 20,000-acre family compound in Louisiana. Four years ago, A& E network came calling and offered them their very own reality show called Duck Dynasty. In addition to being paid $200,000 an episode, books filled with their folksy wisdom were written for them and became best sellers. Their likenesses now graces all sorts of cheap crap made in China and royalties from Duck Dynasty videos and downloads pile up faster that manure at a factory farm. Glory be.

One advantage the Robertsons have over their reality show competition is in their target demographic. They are aiming for evangelical Christians, where they have little competition. Alan Robertson said Hollywood missed the boat on reaching that demographic. By contrast, shows with spoiled rich women partying and fighting while exposing as much flesh as possible are a dime a dozen. Audiences and paychecks are shrinking. The cat fighting market is so last year.

Here is how Phil Robertson explains the Duck Dynasty schtick in GQ.

It’s a funny, family-friendly show, with “skits that we come up with,” as Phil describes the writing process. They plunder beehives. They blow up beaver dams. And when the Robertson-family ladies go up to a rooftop in a hydraulic lift, you just know that lift will “accidentally” get stuck and strand them.

The Robertsons have become rock stars on the megachurch circuit. From CNN:

As Robertson's fame has grown, so has the size of his pulpit. He has preached at megachurch Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California. Publishers peddle "The Duck Commander Devotional" and churches clamor for guest appearances by the Robertson family.

A & E Network and the Robertson clan are marketing geniuses. 

A & E is jointly owned by the Hearst and Disney media empires so I expect great public relations stunts from them. However, they outdid themselves in promoting Duck Dynasty in this latest gambit. It should be used as a case study in every business school in the country.

Here are a few of the basics. Phil Robertson offered GQ an exclusive, no-holds-barred interview. It is safe to say that no one that watches Duck Dynasty reads GQ, but is is the perfect vehicle to stir up controversy and publicity. Old Phil could not wait to say things that do not make it into the show to get folks a talking.

Phil calls himself a Bible-thumper, and holy shit, he thumps that Bible hard enough to ring the bell at a county-fair test of strength. If you watch Duck Dynasty, you can hear plenty of it in the nondenominational supper-table prayer the family recites at the end of every episode, and in the show’s no-cussing, no-blaspheming tone. But there are more things Phil would like to say—“controversial” things, as he puts it to me—that don’t make the cut. (This March, for instance, he told the Christian-oriented Sports Spectrum magazine that he didn’t approve of A&E editing out “in Jesus” from a family prayer scene, even though A&E says that the phrase has been uttered in at least seventeen episodes.) 

What came out of his mouth during the interview had people talking plenty. Every news outlet in the country had at least one Duck Dynasty segment. The cable news shows could not get enough of it. Publicity gold.

The timing of the GQ interview was perfect. The interview was done in November and publication was set for December, just in time for the Christmas buying season. Filming for the next season of Duck Dynasty was nearly complete and it was scheduled to premiere in January. The Robertson gang has a new book of ghostwritten wisdom scheduled for release.

When the controversial things that Phil wanted in print hit the stands, it worked like a charm. When gay rights groups complained, A & E "suspended" Phil from the show, causing those on the political right to howl religious persecution, circulate petitions (more than 250,000 signed the "I stand with Phil" petition in a week), and raise money. Those on the political left screamed just as loud, circulated their own petitions, and also raised money. Duck Dynasty merchandise flew off the shelves. Holiday season Duck Dynasty marathons attracted millions. The Duck Dynasty cruise sold out in a matter of days. Kaching kaching kaaaaching.

After 2 weeks of publicity and marketing gold before Christmas, the network announced that Phil's suspension was lifted on the day after Christmas.

"So after discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming 'Duck Dynasty' later this spring with the entire Robertson family," the network said. "We will also use this moment to launch a national public service campaign (PSA) promoting unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people, a message that supports our core values as a company, and the values found in 'Duck Dynasty.'"

A public relations service campaign to spin "unity, tolerance, and acceptance among all people" as network values is the perfect icing on the marketing cake.

The moral of the story is that A&E, the Robertson clan, and GQ laughed all the way to the bank.

It is abundantly clear what roles money, politics, and fame play in this tempest in a teapot. The question in my mind is how any of it ultimately serves Christ. It is that blending of the things of Mammon and God that has me confused.