Love her or hate her, Paris Hilton is a branding god

So Paris Hilton is in trouble with the law… again. Cops in Las Vegas pulled over her nightclub-managing boyfriend’s Escalade after noticing the smell of pot smoke wafting out the open window, and a subsequent search of the vehicle reportedly turned up a small amount of cocaine in a purse. Despite being the only female in the vehicle, Paris is reportedly claiming that the purse was not hers.

Hey, the “it ain’t mine” defense worked to perfection when she was caught with weed in South Africa during the World Cup, so clearly it’s worth trying here. (“For the last time, it’s not a bong, it’s a fucking vuvuzela!”) The only question that remains is which of the big strapping men who were also in the Escalade is going to be confident enough in his masculinity to claim the little Louis Vuitton number was his own accessory.

While Paris’ impish and unrepentant smile in her latest mugshot will undoubtedly provoke all sorts of “bad role model” themes in this week’s Sunday sermons, she is a damn good role model if your goal is to build a strong worldwide brand. For anyone else, this could be a career-ending incident, but since Paris’ career consists of, well, being Paris, she will undoubtedly find a way to turn this to her advantage. Hey, if nothing else, she at least got the world’s media talking about something other than the Million (White) Man March in Washington. If that isn’t brand power, I don’t know what is. Read more.