Taco Bell recently suffered from the wrath of a celebrity after using 50 Cent in an ad campaign without telling him about the mention of his name. The fast food company tried to use 50 Cent in an advertisement, a comic letter addressed to 50 Cent, asking if he'd change his name to 79, 89 or 99 Cent in promotion of the chain's low-cost menu. The rapper sued Taco Bell for $4 million due to the fact that he was being used to endorse the fast food without his knowledge. Customers also thought that he had "sold out" due to the widespread endorsement, which is not favorable for either the credibility of the endorser or the brand.
The FTC disclosure policy, which goes into effect tomorrow, will start penalizing companies, not the individuals who make the undisclosed endorsements. This has come to the attention of the media when tennis star Serena Williams recently tweeted twice about Nabisco's 100 Calorie Pack snacks without disclosure. In fact, Serena and her sister, Venus Williams, as well as Eli and Payton Manning are "brand ambassadors" for Nabisco. They appeared in various Nabisco commercials, including the Oreo Double Stuf Racing League campaign. The FTC keeps stressing that the celebrity in blogs, tweets or otherwise must let consumers know that they are singing praises for a product because they are being paid to do so! It was only after buzz about her tweets that she also mentioned that she was shooting the commercial with her sister.
The famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey, also the first African American woman to become a billionaire, just announced that next year she will step down from her talk show after 25 seasons. This is no better time than to look back on Oprah’s accomplishments, especially as the queen of celebrity endorsers. Her most recent successes include the voicing the Eudora, the mother of the first African American Disney princess, Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, and producer of the successful film, Precious.
There’s a lot people know about Oprah: she starred in The Color Purple and then produced it on Broadway, had Tom Cruise jump on her couch and loves John Travolta. She even has her own magazine, which Ellen DeGeneres dressed up as for Halloween and created her own television network for women, Oxygen. But if there’s anything that the public knows about celebrity power, it’s that everything that Oprah touches turns to gold.
Each week 44 million people tune into The Oprah Winfrey Show, making any product she recommends increase in sales. On Oprah’s Favorite Things, she features her product selections during the holiday season and offers these products as gifts to members of the audience. It is estimated that about 20 companies “strike gold” after being featured on her annual Favorite Things episode. In 2004, for example, “We Take the Cake” bakery shop was on the verge of bankruptcy until it was featured on the show. Soon after the feature, ten thousand cakes were sold and it became a million dollar business that sells high-end wedding cakes that sell from $5,000 to $20,000. In 2002 and 2005, Oprah recommended Garrett’s Popcorn in Chicago. After the first feature, sales in the month of December increased 100 percent and the company went from making the popcorn from 8 hours per day to 24 hours per day. Last year, when Oprah recommended Amazon’s wireless reading device Kindle, the gadget was sold out during the rest of the 2008 holiday season. Oprah’s Book Club, established in 2006, has also turned her books of choice into New York Times best sellers.
Oprah’s endorsements aren’t just limited to cakes, books and electronics, but boosting others to fame. It is because of Oprah that Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Rachael Ray are so well known and now have television shows of their own. A study also showed that in her first public endorsement of Barack Obama may have won him one million votes. In the beginning of Oprah’s new season, the Black Eyed Peas performed, after which sales jumped 29 percent. Her interview with Whitney Houston caused her album sales to jump up 77 percent.
Oprah is also one of the leading celebrities in endorsing philanthropic causes. Whether it’s Oprah's Angel Network General Fund, O Ambassadors or the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls South Africa, Oprah has raised millions for charity.
As I previously mentioned in a past blog, Oprah has been named on of the most trustworthy celebrities. When named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people, the article mentioned Oprah’s television power to blend public and private lives, linking strangers with stories and information in the privacy of their own homes. It is for this reason that viewers almost feel that they know Oprah and believe in her genuine desire for the wellbeing of others and the world. This gives her the real power of endorsement. There’s been no other single individual who has had so much celebrity power and credibility than Oprah.
Ashton Kutcher, the former star of That 70s Show and host of Punk'd, is the new face of Nikon cameras. It is interesting to note that the url for the COOLPIX camera is: www.ashtonscoolpix.com. The new Nikon camera is sleek, fashionable and colorful. Kutcher is trendy enough to promote the COOLPIX model, especially with is connection to Twitter. The celebrity is a frequent user of Twitter, which he is currently used to promote Nikon’s Film Festival, “a user-generated content contest for people to submit "a day through your lens" video for the chance to win $100,000.” In his short video, Kutcher documented his trip to Africa with his wife, Demi Moore. Kutcher has four million Twitter followers, which Nikon is clearly using to its advantage.
After much exposure during the VMA Awards and her latest tour, Taylor Swift is now an endorser for the Band Hero video game. In her new commercial, Taylor Swift performs alongside Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy and Travis Barker from Blink-182.
The commercial starts out with the classic opening scene from Tom Cruise’s Risky Business. The celebrities were true to Cruise’s rendition with white socks and button down shirts. As the walls of the living room fade away, Taylor moves out onto an arena and into a crowd while performing her hit song, “Love Story.”
While various celebrities from Heidi Klum and David Cook from Michael Phelps and A-Rod have endorsed this video game, this month Gwen Stefani of No Doubt announced that she was suing Activision, the company that makes Band Hero, because her band avatars were only supposed to sing three of her original band songs. Instead, players of the video game can use images of Gwen Stefani to perform songs like the Rolling Stone’s “Honky Tonk Woman.” While it is evident that celebrities drive the sales of this video game, such endorsements deals are at the center of legal dispute and increase the risk liability for companies who hire stars.
Celebrities have become predominant endorsers for various fragrances, most famously Nicole Kidman for Chanel's No. 5 and Anne Hathaway for Lancome's Magnifique:
Celebrities, however, have taken full advantage of the perfume industry--becoming endorsers for their own fragrance. It seems as though every new star launches a perfume line. In fact, there are more new fragrances released in a year than in the 1970s and 1980s combined. In this competitive industry, stars know the power of their names--and so do the companies.
The article features rapper 50 Cent, who released his cologne "Power," had loyal fans lined up to buy the new scent. During the premiere of the line at Macy's, customers of the perfume had the opportunity to take a picture with the star. As an excited fan and customer of the perfume said: "It's not the perfume, it's his energy." This is a primary example of the fact that celebrity brands indeed sell.
The NPR article states that perfume is the best tool to monetize the celebrity, even more so that clothes, music or movies. The celebrity brands, such as J. Lo, Gwen Stefani and Sarah Jessica Parker, saves millions of dollars in advertising because the consumer has knowledge of the product from the moment it hits the counter. It is the name, not the perfume that sells.
Britney Spears launched her Circus Fantasy perfume on August 27, 2009 as a part of her theme for her newest record and world tour. Not only are her fans attracted to buy this product, but especially the younger demographic that hopes to emulate her power, popularity and sex appeal.
J. Lo's new scent, however, "My Glow," was inspired by the "glow" that motherhood creates. In contrast to her edgier fragrance lines, this softer scent seems to capture the love, pride and happiness that she feels as a new mother of twins. Regardless of the targeted demographic, it seems that celebrities can use their name as a strong and appealing brand.
About four years ago, New York University students walked to class hoping they would run into Mary Kate Olsen, catch a sighting of Haley Joel Osment on the elevator or sit in on a Tisch class with Mara Wilson. Even Hilary Duff, who is a guest star on Gossip Girl, is playing a famous star who comes to NYU to have a "normal" college experience, inspired by Emma Watson's enrollment at Brown this past fall. It is not only Tisch that attracts these stars, but NYU is the home of the avante-garde and artistically creative. Even students in CAS often seem to have a guitar in hand, making it even more likely that somewhere down the line that NYU students are headed for stardom. NYU is the place where celebrities come to attend school or at least where they start out.
"NYU student" Hilary Duff on the set of Gossip Girl
It seems like Lady Gaga has no problem returning to NYU for
a guest appearance in Gossip Girl's newest episode this Monday.
However, it seems that these days NYU is going gaga for more than Lady Gaga, who was also enrolled at NYU before she hit it big. This past week, Emma Thompson, Matt Damon and Spike Lee were on campus, making it seem more than a natural coincidence that they happened to be here at the same time. On Tuesday, the British star Emma Thompson alongside Mayor Bloomberg, opened her art exhibit "JOURNEY" with a high-profile press conference. Emma Thompson's walk-through exhibit told the story of a 19-year old girl who was beaten and forced into sex trafficking.
This week, as a part of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute "Primary Sources" series, Spike Lee discussed his work with NYU writer-in-residence James McBride.
Matt Damon contributed to a discussion of a History Channel documentary entitled, "The People Speak." NYU, Cooper Union and the History Channel sponsored the event called "The People Speak Live."
It is from each of these project that demonstrate NYU's use of star power to not only to attract attention in the media and boost its reputation, but more specifically to grab the attention of students who are filling out the last of their college applications as Thanksgiving break approaches. This presence of the celebrity on the campus of New York University not only popularizes the college experience here, but makes prospective students believe that NYU is the place where they'll someday find fame. Celebrity endorsements are not only for fashion, cars and electronics, but for institutions of higher education.
The famous pop star Rihanna stepped into the world of ad endorsements when she collaborated with Totes to sell her very own umbrellas in honor of her top single sensation, "Umbrella." Rihanna's success was at an all time high, scoring deals with Gilette, Cover Girl and most impressively the fashion powerhouse, Gucci.
As seen in Emma Watson's Burberry endorsement, high fashion corporations are particularly careful when selecting the faces of their brand. In fact, it's very rare that a celebrity is used. However, Rihanna, who has tattoos herself, offered an edgy and modern image that complemented the Gucci designer's Frida Gianni's "Tattoo Heart" collection. Rihanna not only strengthened the visual component of the line, but also the conceptual idea to leave your mark, like a tattoo, on someone's heart. A portion of the line's proceeds were donated through UNICEF to children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rihanna projected an image of both strength and philanthropy which reflected well on Gucci.
However, after Rihanna's assault, the celebrity's image has been tarnished, even though almost everyone would agree that this incident was Chris Brown's fault and she should not have to suffer for his actions. However, no company has yet offer to renew their endorsement deal. This is just one example of how companies simply will not risk tarnishing their brand image. There is very low tolerance for celebrity misbehavior. Even though Rihanna continues to speak out about the abuse she faced, her reconciliation with Chris puts her in a very bad position...
Witherspoon is the perfect celebrity for such causes. She is known as the sweet Southern girl who maintains hergood girl image in real life and in her films, including Cruel Intentions, Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde and Walk the Line. This image is what contributes to Witherspoon’s trustworthiness, making her even more valuable in company endorsement campaigns. In fact, Forbes named her one of the top ten most trustworthy celebrities, which also includedTom Hanks, Rachael Ray, Michael J. Fox, Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington,Ty Pennington, Ron Howard and Morgan Freeman.
Witherspoon also demonstrates the power of the halo effect. The halo effect states that when "we recognize one positive attribute about a person, we tend to subconsciously assume they have many more." Forbes states: "It's an easy jump from thinking Hollywood darling Reese Witherspoon is beautiful to thinking she is sweet, intelligentand trustworthy." Beauty indeed has more power than the consumer may think. In fact, "attractive people have an emotional effect on us--a neurochemical release goes along with seeing them."
Thus, Avon couldn't possibly go wrong with snagging Witherspoon to be the face of their products and their causes.When a celebrity has attained that sense of trustworthiness, it not only strengthens the brand image, but theactress's attachment to Avon instantly legitimizes its products and humanitarian causes.
“Since half the people out there are inspired by celebrity, I think that if consumers see a star wearing a trend or new style, they’re more open to it.”
- Jerry Talamantes, Dillard’s Midwest
According to Cotton Inc.'s Lifestyle Monitor, which studies American attitudes and behavior toward apparel and homestyle furnishing, a new survey finds that "among all women, 26% cite fashion magazines, 18% cite TV shows and 12% say celebrities are their top sources for clothing ideas." In addition, women in the age group from 13-24 are more likely to get their ideas from these sources. As seen in the table below, the influence of star power begins to decrease as the woman gets older. However, fashion magazines and commercials/ad, both of which frequently star celebrities, do maintain a rather high rank as an idea source.
It is also interesting to see that American women, who shop at least three times a month, whether in the store or online are more likely to look to these sources when impulse buying: clothing ideas from fashion magazines (31% versus 21%), celebrities (16% versus 8%) and TV shows (21% versus 15%).
In addition to the Anna Sui Target clothing line, which was featured as a tie in with the hit show, Gossip Girl, this same marketing technique was used with Mad Men. Banana Republic sponsored a chance to win a walk-on role in an upcoming episode of Mad Men, which would come with a $1,000 gift certificate prize to the store, which carries classic workplace wardrobe items, like the white shirt and pencil skirt, styles which are often worn on the show.
The article observes that these tie-ins are becoming a regular marketing strategy: "Tom Julian, trend expert and president of Tom Julian Group, a brand consultancy in New York, says the 'Mad Men' and 'Gossip Girl' promotions are 'a solid illustration of integrated marketing with a cultural and style tie-in. If the time and merchandise is right and an organization can surround the consumer with product, messages and lifestyle cues, fashion trends resonate in a bigger and more effective way.'"
For a long time, Hp has dominated the computer industry with printers, but now Hp is seeking to renew interest in its laptop computer. The new Hp ad campaign entitled: "The Computer is Personal Again," seeks to rejuvenate a stagnant brand. Although they are all famous celebrities from different industries, Jay-Z, Vera Wang and Serena Williams are strong figures to add personality to the vague and ambiguous idea of the "personal computer." Thead campaign is also unique because it avoids the vampire effect, so that the commercial focuses on the productitself rather than on the star. In fact, for the entire commercial, the viewer cannot see the star's face. This is an innovative marketing technique on the part of Hp in creating a way to draw upon the celebrity's star power without drawing away from the product itself.
In addition to this, the celebrity is effective in this ad campaign because of the associative benefits that areprojected. This means that if the celebrity benefits from the product, then the consumer may be persuaded that theproduct will benefit him as well. Within the parameters of these three ads alone, the consumer is exposed tocountless programs and activities which the Hp computer could be used for. Rather than just advertising the laptop, the ad directly publicizes its features, which contributes to the overarching marketing theme of how the individual can make the computer "personal."
Jay-Z, the "CEO of Hip-Hop," uses his Hp laptop to store his new song, photos of his Rockawear ad campaign andvacation photos. He'll use the computer to design the new Brooklyn arena for the New Jersey Jets with architectFrank Gehry, organize his world tour and track his investments.
Vera Wang, "Empress of Style," uses her Hp computer to save home videos of her daughter or to communicate with others, whether its receiving an email from a far-away place or searching on Google for information on people she's met. She downloads tracks to find the right music for her runway shows and to store photos of her beautiful, custommade wedding gown designs.
Tennis star Serena Williams, the "Belle of the Ball," uses her Hp computer to store photos of her tennis matches or to check out her competition. She listens to music, designs her new video game and fashion design with Nike, and video chats with her friends.
This ad campaign was a truly creative and innovative way to use celebrity endorsement. Not only does it strengthenHp's brand image and rejuvenate the idea of the personal computer, but the commercial makes the viewer believethat they are credible users of the product.
Since the Apple iPod’s release in 2001, it has become the most popular mP3 player in the United States. The iPod now stands as technology that has transformed the music industry and how people listen to music. Aside from the allure of the iPod models’ remarkably small size, but large storage capacity, Apple’s commitment to direct marketing, personal selling techniques and maintenance of public relations, has caused the iPod to achieve success unparalleled by rival mP3 players. It is with the marketing strategies of Apple that strengthened iPod sales and put these small music players in the hands of people everywhere.
The “Silhouette” advertisements not only feature popular songs, but celebrities Mary J. Blige, Coldplay and Eminem, performing their popular hit songs. Other commercials for “iPod + iTunes” have featured musical legends, such as Bob Dylan singing “Someday Baby” and Paul McCartney singing, “Dance Tonight.” It is important to note that the commercial, which does not seek to offer product details, is designed to create desire for participation in the experience that the iPod provides, often capitalizing on the glamour of featured celebrities. The ability to use classic music legends like Dylan and McCartney, creates a sense of source attractiveness, that immediately increases the “likeability” of the iPod, especially for fans of these musicians.
A new Adweek Media/Harris Poll that surveyed 2,186 adults says that 37%, almost 2 in 5 adult respondents, find U.S. business leaders to be most persuasive when they endorse an ad. On the other hand, 39% found that endorsements by former politicians were the least persuasive.
Bill Gates for Coca-Cola
Respondents may inherently perceive business leaders as successful, thus making them persuasive endorsers and probably one of the reasons that someone, like Bill Gates would star in a Coca-Cola television ad. Deemed as smart and successful, it is easy to understand why a business leader would be a strong endorser. According to Table 1, the persuasiveness of business leaders seems to increase most strongly over time. There is a clear and strong increase over time, probably denoting a shift in older and more experienced consumers who have the ability to identify a credible endorser. By the age of 55, 46 percent believe business leaders to be most persuasive.
It also seems as though there is a decrease in the persuasiveness of former political figures over time. The first age range might be highest because young adults may be first becoming aware of political figures and political life once reaching voting age. Younger individuals may perceive the political world in a more idealistic way and may trust political figures more than an older individual. Among the oldest age range, 55 and older, only a small 8 percent believe former politicians to be the most persuasive.
These shifts in the figures are so significant because the affected target audience for the business and political endorsers seem to change with age. According to Table 1, athletes and television/movie stars, however, which combined constitute up to about fifty percent of most persuasive forces, do not seem to change over time. This may very well suggest that celebrity endorsements, either the athletes or television and film stars, are not solely targeting a young audience and have an enduring power to persuade regardless of the person's age.
Each of these blondes: Paris Hilton for Carl's Jr. hamburgers, Jessica Simpson for Pizza Hut and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen represent various flaws in celebrity endorsements. Paris Hilton was at the height of her popularity when this infamous Carl's Jr. advertisement was shot. In the highly controversial ad, Paris is donning a revealing bikini, while soaked in suds. While many stopped to watch Paris wash the car in the ad, it is clear that the ad has nothing to do with burgers, except that she bites right into one. While Paris Hilton guaranteed ensured attention, putting Carl's Jr. into the spotlight, this endorsement tactic was more damaging that beneficial. In fact, Carl's Jr. has become the burger brand that flashes nearly naked girls to sell their food. The vampire effect, where the star overshadows the brand, continues with Audrina Patridge of the MTV hit, The Hills, who has become Carl's Jr. next celebrity endorser.
Paris Hilton for Carl's Jr. Hamburger
Audrina Patridge for Carl's Jr.
Multi-brand endorsement also causes the celebrity to lose credibility. At the time, Hilton was also featured in ads for Guess/Marciano and Rich Prosecco Italian wine. She was also the face for her clothing, perfume and jewelry line, her own club and her television shows. This conveys a completely different strategy from A-list stars like Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford, who rarely appear in ads, but when they do are effective. The limited use of celebrity faces within one or a few brands will ensure credibility.
Paris Hilton, GUESS
Secondly, Pizza Hut's choice of Jessica Simpson did not seem right at all. One of the reasons that companies seek to launch celebrity ad campaigns simply because they lack creative ideas. Not only is it highly unlikely that the celebrity consumed pizza from Pizza Hut, but there is nothing about Jessica that would logically link her to the food chain.
Jessica Simpson for Pizza Hut
Lastly, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen clearly tarnished the effectiveness of the Got Milk? campaign, when Mary Kate was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. While attempting to promote an image of health and wellness with the regular consumption of calcium, Mary Kate's illness undermined the meaning of the ad campaign. This is one of the liabilities of celebrity endorsements, when the celebrity's reputation is damaged after the ad campaign is launched.
According to Adweek, Volvo has also used the Twilighthit to advertise. Like Burger King, Volvo made a deal with Summit Entertainment to feature their XC60 model as Edward Cullen’s car. In fact, Doug Speck, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America stated that, “Volvo is central to Edward’s character in the Twilight saga,” clearly putting the product at the forefront of the plot.
Volvo has launched a contest where fans of the film can enter to win the chance to meet Robert Pattinson and the rest of the cast during the L.A. premiere of the movie later on this month. Last year, Volvo spent $50 million on media. The Ad Week articlesuggests that the ads are intended to target mothers who would buy the Volvo for their Twilight obsessed tween daughters.
On the "What Drives Edward" website, there are also video clips of the "New Moon" Trailer and photos of the characters. It is almost as if the website is also targeting an audience that isn't familiar with the movie series. Also, I think that this ongoing Twilight ad campaign is very interesting because this is the first time I can recall that such a wide variety of companies have actively sought product placement in a popular film.
The Twilight Volvo is the top banner ad on You Tube.
