Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Case Study in Image Management

 

Some people have been watching the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial religiously -- almost on the same scale with the OJ Simpson trial back in the 90s. This high-profile defamation case has played out in an interesting way when it comes to a public relations perspective. 

Depp's team has masterfully used social media to show how he's kind and genuine with people. If you watch mainstream media versus social media, the difference in attitude is totally opposite. Mainstream media has villainized Depp and seems to lean more toward Amber Heard. Meanwhile social media and experts and fans do not see it quite the same way.  Most of social media and average people watching this trial soon realized that Heard's testimony is questionable. 

Social media's portrayal of Depp has been masterful at repairing his image. I assume that Depp's team is well aware of the tactics they've taken, which are brilliant. We see Depp doing a live performance in his iconic character Captain Jack Sparrow in the Disney attraction. Next, we're being exposed to his charitable work with children's hospitals and little kids. We see him playing with small children. When he's out, he acts generously with fans, signs autographs, shares hugs. His image projects generosity, kindness, sweetness, and care. 

All of these past (and past is important here) videos show a different image of Depp than is being depicted by the Heard team. These videos were made years ago. They are not recently staged for the benefit of Depp's image right now. Since they are older, we know they are sincere.  

On the other hand, Heard had to fire her team and reboot. I don't see how they can repair her image since she has no videos to make her look decent or kind. In fact, we've mostly seen how she's not. The images on social media show her as self-absorbed, an alleged liar (with cosmetic companies stepping up to prove false statements), and mentally unstable, as substantiated by expert witnesses. 

Her machinations led to the loss of Warner Bros. and Disney for future projects. No new PR team can undo the negative perception. To make matters worse, she didn't make her (a-hem) "pledged" donations. Whereas we have Depp on the record as making donations that actually got made. 

If it were a trial about who "looks" decent, well it would be hands down Depp's image-makers who win. It's unlikely that Heard's acting career is likely to recover. And thus, the importance of understanding that what we put out into the world can come back to bite us.