PR lessons from Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al rolled out his most recent album, “Mandatory Fun,” to huge success. Here’s how he snagged the major press, and how you can do the same for your organization.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

If you’ve seen me speak about my book, “Spin Sucks,” you know I have a fantastic case study about PR, sex and Miley Cyrus.

Sex sells (when you’re selling sex), and Miley Cyrus is a great example of how, when you sell it well, it truly works.

(I also love starting a speech with, “Let’s talk about sex,” and watching everyone’s eyes light up.)

Now I have a new brilliant PR case study to throw into the mix: Weird Al Yankovic.

Yankovic is best known for poking fun at the late Michael Jackson with the song “Eat It” sung to the tune of Jackson’s “Beat It.”

More than 30 years later, Yankovic is back in full force. This time he wanted to prove his record label—the one that told him it wouldn’t release any more of his songs—wrong.

#8Videos8Days

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.