Comments on: Celebrity endorsements IV

By: Margo

Margo — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:45:14 +0000

I find it so hard to understand why everyone was so shocked that Kate Moss does take drugs. I just took it for granted that she did and it was part of her lifestyle. It was surely her glamourous and ‘life on the edge’ atittude that made the likes of Burberry, H&M, Rimmel etc use her. However, i do see that these brands cannot stand by and let their spokesperson endorse drug taking, especially as Kate Moss is such huge role model for young girls.

I would also like to add it really irritates me when these stars get caught doing drugs, drinking too much, fighting and in a PR stunt they are rushed off to rehab to convince the general public they are changed people.

By: Grant

Grant — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:55:55 +0000

Debbie, Oh, brilliant. I wish I said that. Chanel and Burberry are hypocrites, too. Time for a boycott? Not just buying, but wearing. Someone’s got to stand up for these fabulously beautiful, incredibly wealthy people! Thanks, Grant

By: debbie

debbie — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:46:15 +0000

Define irony: it was okay for Kate to look like she was taking heroin during her “heroin chic” days but it is not okay for her to actually take cocaine.

ha!

So Grant, what do you think of Chanel and Burberry dumping Kate?

By: Grant

Grant — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:00:25 +0000

Fouroborous: Glad to hear you have escaped the healthy and wholesome clause. Keep running! Grant

Jessica, I agree. “In places we care not to think about, we NEED them on that wall.” Thanks, Grant

CarolGee, Yes, I think they do usually make their money back. But then of course marketing lives in a noisy air space and its sometimes hard to know what caused what. Best, Grant

Irene, great suggestion, great observation. That may very well be it. Brilliant. Thanks, Grant

By: Irene

Irene — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 08:42:50 +0000

Would it be too old-school to suggest that Nike’s Michael Jordan-Spike Lee spots changed how we look at the celebrity endorsement? It wasn’t hucksterism anymore, it was entertainment and Lee — who was not yet hugely famous but was hugely loved by film critics — lent the campaign artistic cachet. All of a sudden, every athlete wanted a campaign as long as it was funny. These spots are 20 years old which means a whole generation of people like Uma and Nelly grew up with stylish, entertaining ads starring celebrities. It’s all OK to them. Maybe their attitude has swayed older celebrities to get in on it too.

Also: a few months ago, I read how an agent approached his reluctant band with the topic of selling songs for ringtones. He said to them, “If this is how your audience wants to enjoy your music, you have to respect that.” That’s a brilliant way to frame the “selling vs. sellout” debate. For agents at least.

I’m done wildly surmising now.

By: CarolGee

CarolGee — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 08:38:00 +0000

I know this is a “dumb” question, but here goes: Do celebrity endorsements actually work to increase sales? Do ad agencies sometimes use this technique because they can’t come up with anything more creative? What does the data say?

By: jessica

jessica — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 23:14:23 +0000

I think it’s funny how quickly everyone has jumped on Kate Moss for the photo of her cocaine usgae. Obviously, cocaine use is something to take seriously. However, for ages we have bemoaned how celebrities look, especially models (like Kate Moss) during the heroin-chic era. People say catty things and start rumours of celebrity drug usage, which is all taken as a matter of fact in the business, passed around with a grain of salt. (How else do lots of them stay so terrifyingly thin?) But once there is solid evidence and honesty, we are horrified, eager to blame and point fingers and shun. Come on.

By: fouroboros

fouroboros — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 22:09:15 +0000

Bravo! Seriously.

Can’t say more, I’m off to find a hooker and a bottle of Irish Whiskey*.

(*Page 21; Section 3; Para 4: Standard rider in the Creative Director’s contract.)