When the Mail Online opens in Australia, pictures of Mel B baring her backside to the neighbours could help keep it as the internet's most read paper.
That picture comes from one of her personal tweets, she told a packed Sunday session at Cannes, hosted by Martin Clarke, the online paper's publisher.
Had it been one of the Spice Girl's professional tweets, the neighbours might have copped a glimpse of the Ultimo lingerie model's buttocks snacking on a thong. And maybe the sponsor would have been declared, maybe not. If a tweet is about something the tweeter genuinely likes, does it matter whether it is also a commercial interest, she argued. Fellow panellist Nick Cannon agreed.
Either way, sex sells – and, whereas they used to call the shots, broker the deals and make or break stars, both newspapers and advertisers now recognise that the balance of power has shifted, said both Mel B and Cannon. Clarke's not arguing. Mel B was “one of the most consistently clicked on personalities” on the Mail Online site. That's good news for him, in terms of guaranteed hits, and given the Mail's reach, fantastic news for Ultimo.
Fellow panellist Martha Stewart agreed. By way of example, she cited Justin Beiber “a guy who is not even 20 years old, and yet has the world's best selling perfume, and the world's third best selling perfume”, on the back of his celebrity and social media status.
It's creativity, but not as we know it. What's not to, er, like?
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