The Celebri-fication of Advertising
Has it all gone way too far?
Watching the Super Bowl, I couldn’t help but ask myself has the whole celebrity in advertising thing gone off the deep end? It sure seems like it.
This one is for all the brand-side people out there.
With over three decades creating ads for major brands around the world, I have never been one to think in terms of a celebrity angle. I’ve always thought the brand itself is the celebrity. My admittedly distorted point of view has been that using a celebrity is a cop out, a way to throw some glitz on mediocrity. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the power of celebrity, the instant recognition, the PR potential, the arena filled with fans they bring to the table. While they have always been a valuable part of advertising, are we now at some breaking point where we no longer use them to help the brand, but instead give the entire brand over to them? It’s called a celebrity endorsement. They endorse your brand. You don’t endorse theirs.
A Super Bowl ad, like any ad, needs an idea that makes the brand interesting.
THEN, and only then, bring in a celebrity who crushes the execution with their talent and relevance. Otherwise, without that idea, you own nothing. The celebrity shines and you get lost. It can’t become a world of only influencer-generated and celebrity-generated content. Your brand through their lens, They come and go. They are fickle. Sometimes they end up in jail (P. Diddy and Ciroc). You can’t put all your eggs in their basket. Fill your own basket first. Brand-generated content is the purest voice of the brand. It’s the one thing you own 100%, through your lens and no one else’s.
One time when I worked at a major NY agency I went into a very important meeting with other creative teams to help save a client that was ready to walk. We sat there waiting for the brief. The presenter stood up, turned and dramatically stated, okay, here is the idea…Rosie O-Donnell. To which I replied “that’s a person, what’s the idea?” Brands should establish a strategy and message, then seek out celebrities who line up with it, and bring their magic to it. Not the other way around.
By my math, 67% of the Super Bowl commercials featured celebrities. It’s become drug dependency. With understanding and respect, celebrities and influencers care more about their brands. Someone has to care about your brand. That is you, and dare I say, perhaps your agency.
