Nikon: Ashton's Picture Perfect

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.

Miley and the FTC Regulation

In my last post, I described the new FTC regulation that will go into effect this December and it's actually having an immediate effect on celebrities. For some teen fans, it was an enormous disappointment to see Miley Cyrus quit her Twitter account a few days ago. Her family members and fans questioned why Miley deleted her account and she explains her reasons in a YouTube video, in which she raps an explanation for her actions. The video is painful to watch, might I add. The reason why I mention this video is that she offers countless reasons as to why she deleted the account, such as her need to live her own personal life and not for the entertainment of others. She also confirmed that no one else influenced her decision.

After this elaborate explanation, it turns out that Miley Cyrus decided to stop using Twitter because of the new FTC regulations to go into effect. Rather than having to disclose all of the products that she was being paid to endorse on her Twitter account, it was decided that it was better to close the entire account. The FTC requirement probably would have referred to every "just about anything the spoiled brat wears, eats or tweets about," as the author of the article kindly puts it.

I'm beginning to realize how many companies use celebrity endorsements without our knowledge. For those who followed Miley on Twitter may have seen her comments or observations about Wal-Mart, for example, without even knowing that she was being paid to mention the store. This is almost a form of subliminal advertising and a way for companies to reach consumers inconspicuously so that we do not tire of seeing/listening to ads. I'm interested to see how else this FTC requirement affects the power and meaning of celebrity endorsements.