Celebrity Endorsements Gone Wild
By Robert Stevenson
Just thinking out loud here. . .
I’m wondering why we give so much power to celebrities to influence our decision making. First some background. My main point comes at the end.
Why do we go buy a Heineken Light because Neil Patrick Harris tells us to? Why don’t we just rely on friends and family, or better yet our personal preference? I can think of one good reason to rely on celebrity endorsements, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
Marketing aficionados know that celebrity endorsements translate into more $ales. Beginning a couple hundred years ago, Wedgwood (china) used the royals successfully to enhance their company’s connotation of quality. I wonder if that was really the beginning – or if maybe David Slingshots really took off after he bested Goliath. (See picture)
It makes perfect sense when we study how someone got to be outstanding in their field – that we may want to emulate them. But doesn’t it water down out enthusiasm when we learn that everything from their shoes to their shampoo are paid endorsements.
One good reason to use celebrity endorsements: If I made widgets why would I want a celebrity to endorse them? Answer: Celebrities and athletes have tremendous reach – some with hundreds of millions of followers. But sometimes this can backfire: Jared, O.J., and Lance Armstrong come to mind.
There’s nothing wrong with paying a little extra for a product because your hero is making money off it. Even though I prefer it, I’d of walked right past my Folgers Classic Roast to pick up a jar of Sanka had I just seen this commercial from the Andy Griffith show. But what if Andy switched to Maxwell House?
Should we buy a product because a celebrity uses it? Why not – as long as we know the product is nearly identical to many others, and we’re paying for the marketing. (Side note: Marketing often makes or breaks a product – try coming home with anything other than Duke’s Mayonnaise here in Greenwood, SC, and you’ll see what I mean.)
All that said, I actually have a point here. Product endorsements are one thing, but aren’t we giving celebrities much too much credit when we let them tell us who to vote for and what is best for our society.
I say yes. What do you say?
