Does the face still fit? Can Celebrity Still Sell in 21st Century Advertising?

This paper looks at how celebrities will lend your brand fame, aid cut through and ideally some of that celebrity aura is transferred to your product or brand, but beware of the potential damage.

7 November 2014

Celebrities are risky. They can be high reward (through amplified recognition or vicarious acclamation) or a costly snafu. A celebrity should, despite the obvious oxymoron, make you distinct. They should augment your brand’s personality (or desired personality) rather than drive it or distract from it. The old adage rings true; the brand should be the hero. The most common problem for companies these days is not the ad standing out, it’s the brand standing out. In that sense, a celebrity in an ad is almost comparable to the use of a popular song; it can loiter in your head, but do you make the link back to the brand?

Ultimately, this all boils down to the creative. An engaging idea, well executed, will beguile the best of viewers. A celebrity can only add their celebrity; a creative can optimise. You can put a Ballon d’Or winner into any team, but if the rest of the squad doesn’t perform, victory isn’t a guaranteed. A-list status is not an assurance of success (see Brad Pitt and Chanel) and equally, perceived obscurity is not a campaign-coffinnail. After all, Jean Claude Van Damme might not be much of a box office draw these days, but he’s a pretty good beer salesman.