Do Celebrity Endorsements Really Work?

CNBC ^ | 01/17/2011 | Jane Wells

[SeekAndFind]

When I interviewed Eric Wisemen, CEO of VF Corp, at the ICR Xchange retail conference in Orange County, I asked him if it was difficult for one of his company's brands, Wrangler, to stand by Brett Favre after the football legend's sexting scandal.

"Brett's been terrific for our brand for a long period of time. He speaks to the Wrangler consumer," Wiseman told me, before adding, "We're obviously figuring out where to go from here."

He might want to read a study by Ace Metrix which suggests that celebrity endorsements can do more harm than good.

"Our study of more than 2,600 ads found that—contrary to popular wisdom—celebrity ads do not perform any better than non-celebrity ads, and in some cases they perform much worse," the report state.

This news could save corporate America a lot of marketing money.

The worst performing celebrity ad last year—no surprise—was the Tiger Woods commercial for Nike, the one where Woods is staring into the camera as you hear the voice of his father. Nobody liked it, regardless of gender or age.

Coming in second, Lance Armstrong's ad for Radio Shack called "No Emoticons" (um, Radio Shack is never mentioned), followed by Kenny Mayne for Gillette, Dale Earnhardt Jr., for Nationwide Auto Insurance, and Donald Trump's ad for Macy's called "Making Timmy a Mogul". 　

Some celebrity ads do work.

"Across the board, the celebrity with the best performance was Oprah Winfrey," says Ace Metrix. But Oprah did not appear in any commercials to push products. Instead, she was part of public service announcements against texting while driving. For pure advertising, some ads which scored well involved celebrities used in the right context: Troy Polamalu for Head & Shoulders, Betty White and Aretha Franklin for Snickers, Carl Weathers for Bud Light

[afraidfortherepublic]

Wisconsin ping list?

[Pessimist]

“Ace Metrix says celebrity ads scored worse with viewers than ads for the same products without celebrities”

“Popularity” with viewers does not equal product perception or influence on buying behavior.

[LottieDah]

Depends on the celebrity and what they are endorsing. Any liberal clap trap endoresed by a celebrity no. Diabetic products by Wilford Brimley, yes.

[Lysandru]

It depends upon the celebrity, doesn't it??

I refused to buy anything pitched by James Carville when he was doing that. The Tiger has lost his luster.

Conversely, only opposing wide receivers and quarterbacks don't seem to like Troy Polamalu! Peyton Manning has an engaging personality (besides being a great quarterback). Betty White and Aretha Franklin are living legends in the entertainment business.

(Yes, I didn't need Betty White to tell me that Snickers are yummy-- but the commercials are genius!)

As an aside, I want to see the Man Law commercials come back--and I wonder if Mean Joe Greene can go pitch Coke again.

[massgopguy]

“Blatz beer is the number one beer in Milwaukee. I’m from Milwaukee. I ought to know.” - Liberace

[massgopguy]

“Blatz beer is the number one beer in Milwaukee. I’m from Milwaukee. I ought to know.” - Liberace

[N. Theknow]

And Diet Pepsi is the official soft drink of the NFL?

Gotta marvel at the dopes that fall for the "Official This, That or The Other" of the NFL, MLB, NBA, Olympics, etc.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Maybe Wrangler should hire Oprah Winfrey. No..........never mind.

[Dick Bachert]

Unfortulately, they worked for THIS clown. “Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again – and CHANGE. DON’T FORGET CHANGE!”