Has there ever been a shameful self-promotion?

[Donnadogsoth]

All I have ever heard or seen is what the self-promoters often refer to, as if with a coy smirk, as "shameless self-promotion" or "shameless plug". I find this begs the question: when has there every been shameful self-promotion? What would it look like?

[Aedilred]

Well, I'm not sure that, at least in this sense, "shameful" and "shameless" are actually antonyms. But in the sense of a self-promotion where the person is embarrassed and clearly feels awkward about putting themselves forward, I think it's relatively common. Moreso in day-to-day life than in the public eye, because celebrities are by nature less embarrassable than the average person.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'm not sure they're ever antonyms. 'Shameless' means that a person isn't capable of feeling ashamed - and is usually applied to people that do a lot of 'shameful' things. Shameless doesn't mean respectable; it's more like brazen.

[Donnadogsoth]

I'm not sure they're ever antonyms. 'Shameless' means that a person isn't capable of feeling ashamed - and is usually applied to people that do a lot of 'shameful' things. Shameless doesn't mean respectable; it's more like brazen.

But, you have heard of someone, as a performer or commentator before a performance of some kind for example, saying, "Shameless plug!" with an ironic expression on their face, before proceeding to plug their book/music album/website? Such people in my experience always self-describe as "shameless" as though "everybody knows" they're not supposed to be shameless but they are pretending they are anyway, and that makes them shameless in fact, but their ironic/cute pose lets them "get away with it".

[Ninja_Prawn]

but their ironic/cute pose lets them "get away with it".

You're reading too much into this (and muddying the waters with the shameful/shameless thing, which is clearly beside the point you wanted to discuss).

We're at a point now, in Western culture, where advertising/plugging products and services is accepted as a fact of life. Self-promotion is something you have to do to get into college, to get a job; to get on in life. We know that people write books/songs/films in order to make money, so we tolerate the plugs, as long as they're acknowledged for what they are. On the other hand, if you didn't make it clear that you've got your promotion hat on, people might feel more like they've been tricked or deceived into listening to advertising, or that you've used your platform for personal gain unfairly. Signalling is part of communication, as this article (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/10/why-everyone-hates-a-hypocrite-oliver-burkeman) talks about.

Still, advertising yourself is an uncomfortable thing to have to do for many people, for various reasons. Irony is a common defense against that.

[Trekkin]

Still, advertising yourself is an uncomfortable thing to have to do for many people, for various reasons. Irony is a common defense against that.

So is being twee, which is I think what Donnadogsoth is referring to here: the sense that while desperately and brazenly schilling things is inevitable, doing so in a way that tries to be cute about its inevitability is just insulting.

[Knaight]

Shameful self promotion happens all the time, just at smaller scales. Consider people awkwardly taking credit for the good work they've done when it's abundantly clear that they're not fans of the spotlight. Now consider if you've ever met someone like that in a work, or school, or volunteering, or even artistic environment.

[2D8HP]

There used to be something called humility, which is now an "inefficient hindrance to economic growth", like having a "conscience".

I'm sure a pharmaceutical treatment will be forthcoming.

[Capt Spanner]

"If you need a bugle player for your event I would be happy to help out. I can even provide the required instrument. Not to blow my own trumpet, or anything." <-- Shameful / humble self-promotion.