Does Bill Cosby need a more digitally savvy PR team?

Bill Cosby, once synonymous with the words such as comedy and The Cosby Show, has made headlines in the recent weeks with allegations of rape surrounding him.According to global reports, TV network NBC has decided to scrap The Cosby Show – the very show which was once vital in reviving the waning network in the 80s. While the accusations continue to grow with celebrities such as Janice Dickinson stepping forward to point fingers at the fallen star, what becomes more evident is the PR disaster that is now clouding around Cosby.Just this month, in the midst of such serious allegations, Cosby and his digital team decided to launch a meme generator for his website.A tweet was posted through the Cosby’s Twitter handle asking for fans to meme him using a meme generator on billcosby.com. This led to the public rehashing past sexual assault allegations against the star.It didn’t take long for the team to realise the potential disaster the new function could create. The meme generator was removed soon after, along with the fan engagement posts. But what remained were the pictures posted with the hashtag #cosbymeme.Take a look at what is still making its rounds on the internet:https://twitter.com/El_Cline/status/534015770808688640https://twitter.com/matthewbramlett/status/531941316372860929https://twitter.com/SifisoMaz/status/532444430150930432Meanwhile, as the weight of the issue increased, Cosby also decided to cancel appearances on shows with Queen Latifah and David Letterman. The once media savvy star also delivered an excruciatingly awkward interview on NPR when interviewer Scott Simon asked about the allegations. These questions were met with deafening silence from Cosby.Here’s an excerpt from the interview on the site:Scott Simon: "This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days."Bill Cosby: [SILENCE]Scott Simon: "You're shaking your head no. I'm in the news business. I have to ask the question. Do you have any response to those charges?"Bill Cosby: [SILENCE]Scott Simon: "Shaking your head no. There are people who love you who might like to hear from you about this. I want to give you the chance."Bill Cosby: [SILENCE]After the interview, Simon tweeted the following:https://twitter.com/nprscottsimon/status/533696597897785345https://twitter.com/nprscottsimon/status/533688206940569601Ouch. And the drama did not end there.According to an article on Adweek, in a statement posted on Cosby's website by his lawyer John P. Schmitt referring to a "decade-old, discredited allegations",  he said that the fact that these allegations are being repeated does not necessarily make it true. A day later, the statement was removed and a quick check done by Marketing showed that another statement was published stating that Cosby had reached a financial settlement with his accuser in 2006. The previous statement was nowhere to be found.While the star once had top advertisers and brands such as Coca-Cola and Jell-O eating out of his hands, it seems that today he is struggling to even keep his own image.In an interview done in 1976 with Ad Age, Cosby said he gave advertisers someone who believes in their product. “ […]Once I believe in the product I aim to sell it, and that's what I think I do better than anybody," said the star.And though it comes as no surprise that today the media landscape has changed drastically from the seventies and social media is a brutal force to be reckoned with, maybe it’s time Cosby got better PR help, particularly for the digital space.