Posted by 
Archived in Your advertising has to compete with a lot of noise these days. With so many channels competing for attention, creating advertising that gets you noticed can be tricky. Not only do you need to engage the interest of ad weary consumers. But your ads also need to have the ‘wow’ factor that makes people sit up and think ‘I want one of those’.
Working out how to create ads that jump out and pull people in is a tricky puzzle. This is why so many brands are waving their cheque books at celebrities and signing them up to give their ads the ‘X’ factor.
Why are celebrity endorsements powerful?
Whenever they’re seen in ads, celebrities transfer their positive qualities, such as their reputation, talent and likeability, onto the product. They also act as the brand’s spokesperson, giving it credibility and the thumbs up in the eyes of their hero worshipping public.
Celebrity endorsements can raise awareness, increase a product’s appeal and influence the buying decisions of fans wanting to emulate their favourite stars, which is why so many brands are happy to pay millions for a brief share of a celebrity’s limelight.
However, as with all advertising, celebrity endorsements cannot build a brand on their own. It takes time, patience and delivering a consistent message through every channel to cement the positive thoughts and feelings people associate with your products.
But having a famous face appearing in your ads can give your brand that extra special ingredient that will help it stand out on supermarket shelves.
A few famous celebrity endorsements
Paul Merson – you’d be right to question the suitability of an ex gambling addict, who lost £7 million and went bankrupt, being the public face of a betting shop. However, the ex-Arsenal player is a well known face and is certainly someone Better Bet’s customers can relate to. Nobody can question his authenticity as a gambling man.
Girls Aloud – the band created by TV now make sure they stay on it at as much as possible. Endorsements for Samsung, Coke Zero, Ultimo lingerie and Sunsilk helps them maintain a high profile even when their music videos aren’t being played.
Johnny Rotten – the ex-anarchist and former Sex Pistol has given many the biggest shock of his career by being so successful at selling butter. Whilst an anti-capitalist in his heyday, he’s now being praised for helping to increase Dairy Crest’s business 85% in the last year.
Barack Obama – whilst the popularity of the new President continues to defy his critics and his halo remains intact, Brand Obama is regarded as the World’s #1 brand. With the image of an exceptional negotiator and communicator, his unofficial endorsement of Blackberry is estimated to be worth $30 million in marketing. And the best part is that he hasn’t been paid to do it.
Prunella Scales – the ex-onscreen squeeze of John Cleese is currently rated as the UK’s most successful celebrity endorser. Her series of humorous ads, with Jane Horrocks in tow, marching around Tesco is estimated to have generated sales of £2.2 billion for the supermarket giant.
Tiger Woods – perhaps the best example of a celebrity becoming synonymous with a brand, the successor to Michael Jordan as Nike’s brand spokesman has helped transform a ‘start up’ golf brand into the most popular clothing label on the fairways. With sales of $600 million a year, Nike Golf is also now competing to be the top brand for clubs and golf balls. No wonder Nike named a building after him.
The moment when the ball pauses after this putt at the 2005 Masters is probably worth millions in free advertising alone:
_______________________________
BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.