Some big brands like to think so. With the years going by, a number of celebrities joined campaigns of big brands. It was only in 2002 that Kylie Minogue was a huge part of the launch of the new Ford StreetKa. And this is just an example, many other celebs have done the same thing. In this article, I’ll highlight some pro’s and cons of this in my opinion very interesting subject: the effect of using celebrities in an ad campaign. The main question is: Does it really work?
According to a study by Millward Brown Precis it certainly does. This study shows us that by using Kylie in the Ford campaign, the number of sales increased surprisingly. The new Ford was at that time associated by a lot of people with Kylie Minogue. So it wasn’t just a new car you bought, no no you bought a story. You were cool, just like Kylie.
So, if I want to launch a new product I’ll use a celeb because that should do the trick. Well, that’s not entirely true. It is a very risky decision for both the brand and the celebrity. It could cause a severe damage to the image of the celeb and/ or the brand. You can’t just put any face on a product. The image of the celeb has to match the image you want the product to have.
According to Kevin Lane Keller (author on an article about 50cent the moneymachine) there are a number of potential problems if you use a celebrity. The first thing you have to look in to if you are considering using a celebrity in your ad campaign, is if the person in question and your product have the same target audience. If so, you can investigate the matter further. Then you need to know if the person in question is willing to be the face of your product or campaign. Because don’t forget, it’s a risk for them to.
Still, you have to do your homework pretty good before you get involved in this business.
Okay, we’ve discussed the pro’s and con’s. What now? If you are in the advertising business, you are going to have to decide one day if you’re going to take the risk that your idea blows up in your face. If you ask me, ad campaigns with celebrities could be very affective. But you do need to do some serious research before you decide to use this kind of campaign. After all, you’re brand’s reputation could be damaged for good.
(435 words)
Sources:
http://www.open2.net/money/briefs_170306_reebok.html
www.mbprecis.com
World Advertising Research Center David Iddiols
October 22, 2007...7:36 am
Using celebrities in advertising campaigns, does it really work? - by Lindsey Visser – version 2
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October 22, 2007 at 7:37 am
Weblog Article Peer Review Form B – Second Review
Writer’s Name Lindsey Visser
Assessor’s name Charlaine Scholten
Date October 14th 2007
Rating Scale: 1 = Yes 2 = Somewhat 3 = No
Rate the article by giving a 1, 2 or 3 for each question. Read the article once to get a general idea of what it is about, then read it a second time to rate it.
1. Is the topic interesting? __1__
2. Is the title original and appropriate? __1__
3. Is the introduction complete? __1__
4. Is the body of your article complete? __1__
5. Is the conclusion well-developed? __1__
6. Is the article well-organized overall? __1__
7. Is the article easy to understand? __1__
8. Is the article interesting to read? __1__
9. Has any plagiarised material been removed? __1__
Do you feel that the writer has improved the article? Why or why not? Be specific.
I think the article is really improved, because the structure is much better and she improved the introduction. It’s also longer then it was the first time I read it, so that’s an improvement to.
Has the writer changed the article adequately according to your suggestions for improvement of your first assessment? Describe the changes and state specifically whether you think they are an improvement.
Well, the first time I read it I said on the peer review I thought it was too short. And now it contains more information and is much longer, so I think that’s an improvement.
The second thing I said she should improve, was that I thought it wasn’t complete yet. Like I said before, she used more information from her sources, she improved the introduction and it’s just better structured overall now.
The last thing I said she should improve, was that she used some irrelevant words. She removed some of them, but not all.
Are you happy to have this article on your weblog? Why or why not? Be specific.
Yes I’m very happy with this article on my weblog, I think it’s very well written. The structure and the subject make it very nice to read. The information given in the article, could also be used for the project O’Neill. It’s just an interesting subject, and the article it’s self is nice to read to.