Which Celebrity is Your PR Spirit Animal?

Where do you fit in in the public relations animal kingdom? Which animal, and its celebrity equivalent, should be the spirit guide of your practice? We break down some of the PR’s most prominent spirit animals, then pair them with a celebrity for extra fun and clarification.

Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

Whatever the PR equivalent is of eating a live cobra, honey badger does it, and he don’t care. Honey badger goes in and gets what he wants, even if he has to get stung by a thousand bees to do it. Honey badger PR pro is an ace at his job, and he don’t care about rumors or personal grooming norms. Why? Because honey badger is one of the biggest stars of the industry, so not only does honey badger not care – honey badger don’t have to care.

Sam Heughan, photo via Starz

The Groundhog – Sam Heughan

You probably know or know of a PR groundhog: not on the greater radar, but is about to get his day in the sun, shadow or not. Groundhogs do quality work for projects large and small, always putting in the hours necessary for a project to succeed. PR groundhogs have recognition in their niche, which bolsters their good reputation. But their time for spring is right around the corner; a lot of people are about to pay attention to the groundhog once it signs on to a visible new project. It doesn’t hurt if that project is the TV adaptation of a bestselling book series featuring men in kilts.

Tilda Swinton by flickr user aphrodite-in-nyc under CC BY

The Chameleon – Tilda Swinton

There may not be a public relations equivalent for being a woman who plays a man who turns into a woman, but chameleons don’t need one. Calls for tough and quirky projects go straight to them, and that’s the way they like it; chameleons like expanding their horizons, filling different roles, and thinking outside the box. Not everyone “gets” chameleons, but almost everyone can agree they do profound – and sometimes confounding – work.

Oprah Winfrey, via flickr user RubyGoes, cropped from original, under CCBy license

The Praying Mantis – Oprah Winfrey

The ultimate content marketer, a praying mantis can turn its head 180 degrees, so it’s serious about garnering full coverage in every type of media. A praying mantis is serious about getting out their message they’d print their own magazine and put themselves on the cover every month.  A formidable hunter always armed and ready with a plan, a few million Twitter followers, and the biggest journalist Rolodex in the class, a praying mantis can reach an audience wherever they are.

Tom Cruise, MTV Live Via Wikimedia Commons CCBYSA 2.0

The Dolphin – Tom Cruise

Dolphins are the power networkers because they’re extroverted, passionate, and work a crowd. You’ll find dolphins delivering navel/blowhole-gazing keynotes on abstract concepts and the future. They may or may not use a couch to emphasize their point.

Peter Dinklange, by flickr user Gage Skidmore under CCBY license

The Panda – Peter Dinklage

Everyone loves a panda. The critical darlings of the PR and animal kingdoms can do no wrong no matter how bad their British accent is. Whenever you run into them, they’re always working on a bigger, better, or worthier cause. Every campaign, every canned response, every tweet seems to hit just the right note.

Mindy Kaling by NoHo Damon via Wikimedia Commons CCBYSA2.o0

The Ant – Mindy Kaling

Ants are tough PR pros. Whip-smart and hard-working, ants may not fit the stereotypical image of their industry, and they use that to their advantage by fighting those stereotypes with determination, skill, and crazy strength. But ants are good – really good, and if people want to judge them, whatever, because while they’re out being all judgey, oops! There goes another rubber tree plant.