I guess I don't really know marketting fundamentals all that well. It came as a big surprised to me when I found out that Paris Hilton's hack was good publicity for t-mobile. The stores in New York are sold out.

"I don't think there's such a thing as bad publicity unless you have underage kids working in a third-world country," said David Carlson, co-chief executive of Heavy, a New York-based media company. "Anything involving Paris Hilton, even if it's relatively tragic, seems to move the meter."

Of course, not every dark cloud has a silver lining. Gap, which became linked to former White House intern Monica Lewinsky after she famously stained a blue dress, didn't see a big spike in sales.

"If Monica Lewinsky were more attractive, then that would have been a bonus," said Carlson. "If it were Paris in the Gap dress, it would have been good for Gap. Sad but true."