Boyle has magnificently demonstrated that substance is more important than style, or, indeed, that sometimes it is more substantial to be unstyled. It is ironic that a host of companies are now clamouring for her endorsement.
It's easy to see where it's heading: makeover campaigns such as 'our haircare product transformed Susan Boyle', which will ultimately destroy the true beauty she represents.
What these publicity-hungry brands should be doing is asking how they, like her, can make their product exceed expectation. Alas, many marketing people's idea of marketing is the inverse of this.
Susan Boyle would be justified in taking brands' money and running.
However, if she does, sponsors should beware. Her element of surprise is gone. We now expect her to sing well, and with each new song the delight of surprise will diminish, and so will the ROI of the sponsorship.
Unless, of course, Boyle has more surprises yet to come.
.jpg)
.jpg)