With Dolly Parton's death, tributes multiplied from unlikely places, from country to pop, from cinema to politics, from artists of different generations to former presidents of the United States. Michael Bublé told a story that illustrates the artist's reputation well: Dolly sent him a surprisingly simple and shy letter asking if she would be available to sing a song in duet. Bublé responded yes before even hearing the music.
In Portugal, many people associate "I Will Always Love You" with Whitney Houston and the film "The Bodyguard," which has accumulated almost two billion views on YouTube. However, the song was written by Dolly Parton in 1974. Interestingly, in that same year, Elvis Presley wanted to record it, but his agent demanded half the publishing rights, a condition she refused. When Whitney Houston turned the song into a global phenomenon, the composition was still Dolly's property, and she is said to have received approximately 10 million dollars in royalties in the 90s.
Few public figures were as anything-but-neutral as Dolly Parton. With her hair, nails, glitter, voice, accent, clothing, and humor, she was almost a caricature of herself, constructed down to the last detail, without trying to be more discreet or sophisticated. Yet she became deeply consensual. Her authenticity was not about seeming natural, since her image was intentionally constructed, but rather about the consistency between what she said, did, and was.
The article suggests this paradox is relevant for brands: Dolly showed that it is possible to be deeply distinctive without necessarily being divisive. Without trying to please anyone, she ended up pleasing almost everyone. Without trying to be neutral, she managed to be unifying. Perhaps the strongest brands are not those everyone remembers, but those about which everyone seems to have a story to tell.
