No Such Thing As Bad Publicity

Why do we find forbidden fruit so much more irresistible? Films not to be watched, books not to be read, and art not to be viewed, receive an immense amount of media and public attention that is beneficial not to the opposition, but to the filmmakers, authors, and artists, respectively. At times I’ve wondered whether protests and bad publicity are engineered in order to generate more interest. Keeping something in the public eye will always pique curiosity and make people think that this is something they need to see for themselves.

Two weeks ago on the television show "Ally McBeal," one of the characters had a stiff neck from sleeping incorrectly. Her colleague suggested she visit a chiropractor. Her response?—"They’re quacks!" But the colleague insisted, and although she went, it was with much skepticism. After receiving an adjustment, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the stiffness was gone. The chiropractor then offered more relief by leading her to "the chair"—a favorite because of its vibrating feature. It soon became clear that the chair was the focus of the plot rather than a chiropractic adjustment. Was the brief moment after receiving the adjustment enough to make the audience forget the "quack" statement?

Here is one example of a conversation with my friends and coworkers:

"Did you see ‘Ally McBeal’ this week?"

"The one about the chair? Does it really exist?"

"Well, I honestly don’t know. So, what do you think about chiropractic after watching the show?"

"Do all of them have that chair?"

"I don’t know. Would you go see a chiropractor now if you had a stiff neck?"

"Maybe... Definitely, if they have that chair."

Did the show influence the all-important 30 to 45-year-old target audience to reduce chiropractic into a piece of equipment? Is this the kind of publicity chiropractic needs or wants? The chair as a humorous plot device may perpetuate the notion of quackery in that chiropractic is a nonserious health care option. One of my colleagues was left with the impression that chiropractic is the chair and the chair is chiropractic.

But on the flip side, now more people have been exposed to the positive results due to an adjustment, and this may be the extra nudge that might bring new patients to your practice. So, when patients-in-search-of-the-chair come to your office, you can take the opportunity to reveal the real chiropractic and its benefits. Just be ready to field any chair questions. CP

Miwon Seo
mseo@medpubs.com