The Impact of Celebrity Marketing: Successes, Flops, and Lessons Learned

“What else?” A few notes of catchy music, a cozy atmosphere and a celebrity stealing the limelight for coffee capsules. Everyone has in mind the advertisements of the American actor George Clooney for the Nespresso brand. A card that has benefited the actor as much as the brand. Nespresso has seen its sales increase by 40% since it called on the actor from Ocean’s Eleven. “This association is very strong. In addition to the financial aspect, people have regularly seen George Clooney on large posters or on the screen for his advertisements, develops Pierre Van Steenberghe, founder of the agency Lead Agency. In terms of public notoriety, this was a big boost for his career. The Nespresso campaigns have undoubtedly increased the number of views of George Clooney’s films and his “market value”.

The penknife in Britney Spears’ contract

For more than a century, brands have called on – with varying degrees of success – celebrities to promote the merits of their product. It all started around 1890 when the French actress Sarah Bernhardt promoted the rice powder “La Diaphane”. In its own way, the British royal family was also a forerunner by becoming the ambassador of Cadbury brand confectionery. Basketball player Michael Jordan and sports equipment manufacturer Nike, the many actresses who have been saying “because I’m worth it” for more than 50 years for L’Oréal,… The story of so-called “celebrity marketing”, in full growth, is dotted with great successes. Studies show that a consumer pays more attention to a well-known person rather than a lay person.

But there have also been big flops and contract hits. Singer Britney Spears hit the headlines in the early 2000s when it was learned that she had bought shares in the soda giant Coca-Cola, when she was tied for millions of dollars to big competitor Pepsi.

As here with the Paddington bear, the royal family of the United Kingdom has been a pioneer in terms of communication, by becoming the ambassador of sweets from the Cadbury brand. ©AP

More recently, Belgian rapper Roméo Elvis, accused of sexual assault, saw the end of his contract with the Lacoste brand. Other scandals have peppered the history of “celebrity marketing.” The H&M ready-to-wear chain of stores immediately ended its collaboration with model Kate Moss when a snapshot of “the Twig” snorting cocaine appeared in the British press. Nike did the same when the athlete Oscar Pistorius was condemned by the South African courts for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Athletes outperform actors

“The risk will always exist, develops Pierre Van Steenberghe. But the company can minimize it by filtering in particular the history of the contracts of “his” celebrity. For example, the association between an eco-responsible company and a celebrity who promoted a brand destroying the planet three months before will not be fantastic”. More rarely it is the company that is rejected by the celebrity, following a scandal involving the brand. “The idea for companies is to find a celebrity who conveys the values ​​they want to put forward,” insists our specialist.

In this little game, the big winners in recent years have been top athletes. “The world of sport has become a huge business, continues Pierre Van Steenberghe. On social networks, the people who have the most followers are now athletes whose notoriety is linked to their performance.

Another asset of sportsmen and women: their visibility. “We see them much more often than actresses and actors who only make two or three films a year. There are, for example, football matches every week and daily interviews with sportspeople in the media. Contact is continuous with the public who identify with these great athletes. Some fans spy on the slightest gesture of their idol”. Whether Messi with the Saudi Arabia tourist office or Cristiano Ronaldo with Nike, the biggest advertising contracts are now signed by athletes. Belgium is no exception to this trend, even if the amounts in our country are very far from reaching the staggering sums touched by the two stars of the round ball.

2023-08-06 11:46:52
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