Devoted to online marketing, viral marketing, and web marketing

The marketing of brands, especially celebrity brands, has taken on a real edginess over the years, as people fight to keep their name in the public eye. Some of the outrageous, scripted behavior has many times exceeded decency and acceptance in the public eye.

While this particular instance with Nathaniel Marston, who plays Dr. McBain on the soap "One Life to Live" wasn't scripted, it does show where this type of strategy and behavior leads to.

Marston was charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, menacing and resisting arrest, as he attacked three men with a crate and then battled police when he resisted arrest.

I think what's happening, is celebrities and some companies can get carried away and go way too close to the line, and once there, it only takes a small push to cross it. That happened in this case, as it has been for some time in a number of cases.

It seems the time of outrageous behavior may be coming to an end, as far as it relates to marketing. We need to be careful more than ever, as it is starting to backfire on a lot of people in brands, as they cross the line that blurs fantasy from reality.

We need to be careful with any type of celebrity we use in branding and marketing, along with going too far with the use of the outrageous to get attention. We're walking a fine line that has to be managed carefully.