Celebrity Endorsements

In the US, a popular way of marketing new products is through celebrity endorsements. In Ireland this is much more rare, and one can count on one hand the number of celebrities advertising products on TV.

This is partly due to the fact that the Irish do not like to be told what to think or buy by people who may see themselves as superior. They tend to be cynical about the motives of the celebrities involved and there is a general mistrust of the rich and social elite. For example, if a successful Irish millionaire recommended driving a certain type of car, the typical reaction would be "It's fine for him..." This reaction reflects the mistrust as to where someone's money came from that is common among the Irish. They treat celebrities differently than Americans do. In fact the Irish refuse to give status openly to stars and are just as likely to react with cynicism as with enthusiasm to the suggestion that they want to be like them.

One exception to this attitude toward celebrities is the Irish attitude toward sports heroes, especially those they can identify with on a personal level. Advertising that has used well-known Irish athletes has had a lot of success in Ireland. Michelle Smith-DeBruin's success in winning three gold medals for swimming in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was followed by her brief appearance in a shampoo commercial and in another aimed at encouraging people to speak the Irish language. She inspired a very positive reaction, as an ordinary person who had managed to achieve her dream through her own hard work and, in doing so, had brought success to Ireland. People felt they could connect with her ordinary background and fly with her heroic success.

Sports sponsorship also proved to be a valuable marketing strategy for the auto manufacturers Opel, when they took a risk in sponsoring the Irish soccer team for the World Cup in 1990. In the end the team's success far outstripped everyone's expectations, and soccer's consequent rise in popularity resulted in excellent free advertising for Opel.

In most countries, marketers often reach their targeted consumers by using models in commercials who look like their targets. However since status is ascribed to Caucasians in Japan, they are often used to sell products.

There are three categories of Caucasians used in marketing in Japan. The first is the Caucasian Hollywood star. Jodie Foster has successfully promoted coffee and Harrison Ford, Kirin Beer; Leonardo DiCaprio advertises credit cards and autos. The second category is the stereotypical Caucasian blond who represents ultimate beauty. These models advertise clothes and many other products. The last category is the slightly Japanese-looking Caucasian, who represents ultimate Japanese beauty. These models often promote products such as cosmetics, which the consumers feel need to be made specifically for the Japanese.

Japanese-looking Caucasians are also often used in ads for Japanese banks. Sakura Bank uses a Caucasian model with slightly Japanese features in traditional Japanese settings; they want to attract women since they control household finances. Depending on the product and target, Caucasian models are very effective in sending a message to the consumer.

Koreans are very easily influenced by people with high status, such as experts, gurus, and celebrities, so many companies use such people in marketing campaigns. They can be used for advertisements but also for other forms of publicity. Health experts are frequently used to promote food or body care products. Companies are eager to associate the name of a management guru with their company. The use of local Korean celebrities in advertisements has proven to be very effective. Samsung used Kim Won-june, a 19-year-old local singer, to promote its teen clothing line, Count Down. Count Down is now extremely popular and Kim Won-june became a national celebrity.

Using celebrities to promote products can also be very successful in Taiwan. Sports celebrities, pop music celebrities, local celebrities, movie celebrities can all be effective. The most important thing is that they symbolize the lifestyle that viewers aspire to.

Although celebrity endorsement is used in the UK, it tends to be rather different than that used in the US. Achievement is admired, but the British tend not to take their heroes too seriously. They may gently make fun of them or show them in a situation where they are laughing at themselves. Examples of this are the advertisements for Walker's crisps (potato chips). Gary Lineker, a well-known soccer player respected for his integrity, is shown adopting a variety of effective but silly disguises in order to cheat other people out of their crisps. The implication is that you'd better watch out, these crisps are so good that anybody might be waiting to steal them. In a recent promotion, empty crisp bags could be exchanged for free books for your local school. The advertisement shows a school headmistress collecting full packets of crisps from children and one boy asks "But why do they have to be full bags, Miss?" "They just do!" she replies. The next shot shows the headmistress taking the crisps into her room, where her double is tied up and struggling. The headmistress with the crisps tears off a mask to reveal Gary Lineker - triumphant in getting the crisps yet again. Some cultures would find it inappropriate to show children being exploited in this way. Some would also find it inappropriate to make fun of a national hero like this.

There are many uses of celebrity endorsements in the US. For example, Michael Jordan has a whole line of Nike athletic wear. The idea, of course, is that if you wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, you will be able to jump as high as he can on the basketball court. This type of marketing is particularly effective if you are appealing to younger consumers; they are more likely to tell their mothers that they want Wheaties (an athlete-endorsed breakfast cereal) if they have seen Michael Jordan eating them for breakfast on TV. Young Americans are often easily convinced that if they wear the same clothes or eat the same foods, they will be able to achieve the same level of greatness.

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 933