Making Daily Headlines · Page 3
Atlanta's New Headliners Let Everyone Else Do the Publicity
· New York time
Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang made their long-awaited public debut at Zoo Atlanta on Friday, delighting visitors who got their first look at the pair. The pandas are on loan from China, and their arrival gave Atlanta a new attraction whose stars are not required to deliver a speech, answer questions or promise a busy season ahead. Their first public appearance was the moment fans had been waiting for. A panda debut is an unusually direct bargain between institution and audience: the zoo offers a chance to see the animals, and visitors supply the excitement. There is no need for the stars to explain their strategy or describe their journey in a branded video. The loan arrangement also places the pair within a longer tradition of international cooperation around giant pandas. For the Atlanta audience, though, the immediate appeal is much simpler: two animals have appeared in person after a long wait. The event shows how little a celebrity must do when the public has already decided the appearance is worth attending. A public figure might spend weeks arranging interviews to announce a debut. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang only had to be pandas, a qualification that turns out to be remarkably difficult for the rest of the entertainment business to match.
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