THE ZELENSKYS’ VOGUE PUBLICITY MISFIRE: Is an Annie Leibovitz shoot the best way to appeal to Middle America’s sympathies?
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife posed for renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. In one shot Olena stands near Ukrainian female soldiers at the Antanov airport. In another she holds hands with her husband in the presidential office compound in Kyiv as the pair stare pensively at the camera. In perhaps the oddest photo, Zelensky is sitting behind his wife, pressing his cheek to hers and looking pointedly at the camera in a manner best described as Zoolander-esque.
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Some critics supported the couple’s decision to take their fight to the magazine shelves. The Washington Post’s Sonny Bunch posits that the Zelenskys were smart, not silly, for appearing in Vogue. He provocatively argued that Americans have short attention spans and that we have lost focus on the war in Ukraine. According to Bunch, by “appearing in celebrity-focused magazines,” Zelensky is “taking advantage of our unseriousness” and keeping the crisis at the forefront of people’s minds.
When most Americans think of Vogue, they think of the celebrities dressing like clowns at the annual Met Gala, and thick magazines full of progressive thinkpieces, and ads for expensive face creams. Perhaps the unserious American will see that the president of Ukraine is posing in Vogue and deduce that things can’t be as dire as they were before if the first couple has time for fashion photoshoots. Before you know it, that person — due to their news ADD — has moved on to the next trending topic on Twitter.
If staying in the public discourse is important to Zelensky — and doubtless it is — then he should rethink the Anna Wintour method. A picture is worth a thousand words and an Annie Leibovitz picture is worth that plus a few eyerolls to boot.
Speaking of eye-rolls, who’s ready for the Zelensky action figure?!
Pose him alongside your Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bernie Sanders and Dr. Fauci action figures!