Send In the Clowns

When things go sideways, you can always send in the clowns.

There is an old public relations tactic that surfaces whenever institutions get into trouble. When the real story becomes too damaging, too embarrassing, or too expensive to explain away, they “send in the clowns.”

Not literal clowns of course. Sometimes it is an outrageous spokesperson. Sometimes it is a ridiculous controversy. Sometimes it is a celebrity appearance, a viral social media moment, a culture war argument, or some shiny emotional distraction designed to redirect attention.

The goal is simple. Move the audience away from the real problem. In present day politics a problem emerges which is damaging or embarrassing. The political spin-masters throw something shocking or absurd onto the table and suddenly everyone stops discussing the original issue. The media pivots. Social media explodes. Attention shifts. Mission accomplished. Meanwhile the underlying problem remains untouched and hopefully forgotten. Tell me. Doe this sound familiar?

Corporations do this too. A company suffers a service failure, product defect, or data breach and suddenly launches a bizarre marketing campaign or starts talking about something emotionally charged but unrelated. The audience gets entertained, outraged, or confused long enough for the organization to regain control of the narrative.

Why does this work? Because human attention is limited (please hang on the for another minute or two). Most people cannot process multiple emotional events simultaneously. The louder and more outrageous the distraction, the less scrutiny the original mistake receives. Humor lowers defenses. Outrage spreads like a virus. Chaos overloads critical thinking. The clown becomes the story.

The danger is that distraction tactics often work in the short term. Investors, voters, customers, and even employees can temporarily lose focus. The emotional shiny object becomes easier to discuss than the uncomfortable truth.

But over time trust erodes. People eventually realize they are being manipulated. Once that happens, the distraction itself becomes the new story. Credibility collapses. Cynicism rises. Audiences stop believing anything.

And in business, trust is oxygen. Without it, the room eventually empties. The lesson is simple. When the noise level suddenly spikes, ask yourself an important question. What are they trying to keep me from noticing?

That question alone can save investors money, voters frustration, and entrepreneurs from following the wrong leader into the circus tent.

Stop clowning around.

John Bradley Jackson
© 2026 All rights reserved.

P.S. "Send In the Clowns" is a song written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. Personally, I think of the Judy Collins cover of the song which topped the charts. Yet, the expression goes back hundreds of years. Send in the clowns is a phrase derived from a classic theatrical and circus tradition, meaning "let the jokes begin" or "bring on the fools" to distract an audience when a performance goes wrong. It is used metaphorically to acknowledge that a situation has turned into a disaster or a farce.

Source: Wikipedia