The EXXXOTICA Press Frenzy



The EXXXOTICA story was a mini feeding frenzy on the East Coast -- and beyond -- last week. Long story short: The Mayor of Secaucus, NJ basically tossed the EXXXOTICA New York Expo, an adult film event, and it moved to Edison, NJ. On the surface it sounds like no biggie, right? Municipal minutiae from Jersey. Wrong. The traditional gatekeepers -- network newscasts, local newscasts and newspapers -- are facing competition from the blogosphere, they decided to cover the salacious imbroglio. And because it was about sex -- 20 over-the-top adult film stars were caught in the mess -- the story exploded.

So we emailed Daniel Adams, the EXXXOTICA Spokesperson, to Monday morning quarterback having been in the center of the media storm.

The Corsair: It would appear that the plans of the Mayor of Secaucus, NJ kind of backfired. While, yes, he got EXXXOTICA New York out of his city, instead giving revenues to Edison, NJ via the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center. Comment?

Daniel Adams: "If his plan was to use a political position to grandstand for his own personal gains, I think that he succeeded. He took a moral position saying he did not want this in his town, then later contradicted that by saying that he would have let it there this year, but did not want this to be a recurring event.

"What he did do was provide EXXXOTICA New York with a media frenzy, took away business — both present and future — from a large taxpayer for his city, as well as local businesses such as hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. Secaucus must be a very rich city and all businesses must be thriving. It's a question you should pose to the hotels and restaurants and other ancillary businesses that lost the revenue. Ask them how they feel.

"Secaucus' loss was definitely Edison's gain. We had no incidents at the convention, and even local residents who came and news media who were there to film and/or cover it said it was much less "explicit" than they were led to believe from Mayor Elwell's statements."

The Corsair: There was just a flurry of free press over the issue. Let's face it: sex is sexy; news organizations had no problem covering the story. On a scale of 1 to 10 how much did the conflict with the Mayor of Secaucus contribute to the success of the event?

Daniel Adams: "While we did receive an astounding amount of press on television, radio, print and electronic media, it's really hard to say how it helped. We're sure it did, but also having to move the show with little time incurred enormous additional expenses, and who knows how successful the show would have been at its original location with its close proximity to Manhattan and a very populated area of North Jersey rather than 40 miles south."

The Corsair: Is there such a thing as bad publicity?

Daniel Adams: "Of course there is, especially if the publicity is for something you're doing that's illegal. The bottom line here is that EXXXOTICA is not illegal. It's a celebration of people and legitimate businesses celebrating their right to free speech, free expression and their right to assemble to exercise those rights."