Celebrity Branding
Does anyone really buy an item just because a celebrity reps it?
For example:
Catherine Zeta Jones - T-Mobile
Jenny McCarthy - Weight Watchers
Most of these celebs aren’t experts in the field or product they’re hyping. Yet consumers are still hooked, if their favorite movie star or singer likes something. It must be good, right? So they should try it.
Consumers purchase things based on a celebrity recommendation all the time. Otherwise, why would the industry continue selling things this way?
A beautiful actress representing a beauty product makes sense. A slightly chubby one selling a weight loss program does too. Even a star athlete fronting a healthy cereal or a sports drink is acceptable.
Because, if the celebrity looks good using a product or plays better because of a drink, consumers will look better and play better too. At least, that’s what they’re selling. And it works.
But when does this tactic go too far? Does a famous face fronting anything really make it better? Or just help embed the brand better in consumers’ minds?
Filed under: Marketing Trends, Strategy
I was a huge Sex and the City fan, and when Sarah Jessica Parker started being the rep. for GAP and Garnier. I didn’t run out the door to buy them, but I did think favorably on that particular clothing line and hair dye. Also, I did go as far as smelling Sarah Jessica’s perfume, but the fact that I like the actor didn’t mean I liked the smell. I didn’t buy the perfume.
Actually, it has been proven time and time again by numerous advertising market research studies that using a celebrity in advertising is actually a turn off to the average consumer.
Too bad more ad agencies don’t take the time to read these papers - instead we are forced to be bombarded with spaghetti sauce endorsed by annoying cartoon characters.
David Ogilvy covered this in detail in his book “Ogilvy On Advertising”.