A story from today’s Sports section of the Chicago Sun-Times made me think back to an interesting marketing lesson I learned in my early 20’s.

You see, one of my former bosses – a small business owner himself – used to say “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

So one day he was ecstatic when we were given a “cease and desist” order by Paramount Pictures for trademark infringement, with all the fixings, including a threat for a law-suit.

When he opened that letter, he was literally jumping for joy in his office and yelled for me to come in and hear the great news he had to share.

He showed me the letter from Paramount’s lawyers, and he had a smile ear-to-ear. He was downright gitty. I on the other hand, at the tender age of 23 and as the managing partner of the target business in question, had dropped my jaw on the floor and paralyzed with fear, felt like a deer in headlights.

Then he told me to lighten up and said this was one of the best things to happen.

We called the local newspapers and played up this “David vs. Goliath” story. The papers sent reporters and photographers to get an interview and pictures.

The publicity didn’t turn the business completely around, but we enjoyed a slight bump in revenue during the process and had a good laugh, too. The legal order really turned into a non-issue. We negotiated, and each side made concessions. It was settled easily with almost no cost to us.

But, getting back to today’s sports section and how news affects public relations and marketing…

Ron Artest, a former Chicago Bulls player who was a tough defender but labeled a problem child by many was traded away from the team in 2002. He is still in the league, playing for the Lakers. Yesterday in an interview with Sporting News, he told many colorful stories about his acts, misdeeds and philosophies that shed light on his current beliefs about himself and his attitudes about being a NBA player.

The whole interview brought questions into my head about “What is good PR and what is bad PR?”

But one quote in particular made my head spin.

How did Artest deal with losing on a consistent basis in the Bulls games during those tough, many-loss seasons of rebuilding after the championship years?

Said Artest, “I used to drink Hennessy at halftime.”

Wait…  What?

Yes. Artest said that he used to go to the liquor store down the street from the United Center and buy Hennessy, which he would keep in his locker and swig down during halftime of games during those dark Bulls years.

He spoke about the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004, in which he and his Pacer teammates and Pistons players got into a fight that ended up in the stands. He also spoke about other things he’s done on his many teams.

But that quote about drinking during halftime really stuck out to me. As soon as I heard it, I thought, “Wow.. I bet the NBA is really happy with this PR!” And it made me think about my old boss and his philosophy on publicity.

Assuming it’s true, and there is no such thing as bad publicity, I really want to know:

Aside from Sporting News, who is the big PR winner from this interview?

A. Ron Artest
B. The Bulls
C. The Lakers
D. The NBA
E. Hennessey Cognac
F. Too close to call