11/5/09
We’ve discussed the fact that one of the problems with using celebrities in advertising is that they often lack believability. And sometimes they’re actually silly enough to get caught using a competitive product. After his brief flirtation with Microsoft, Seinfeld is now back to using Macs. Did he ever believe in PCs? Or was he just paid well to pretend that he did? (Tang, 2009).
Ms. Stewart’s association with Dove runs far deeper. Special-edition bags of “Promises” chocolate will carry 200 different holiday tips from Martha, in a “fortune cookie” like format. During the show she’ll discuss Dove’s commitment to cocoa sustainability and holiday craft segments will include the candies.
Perhaps the entire campaign would be more believable if it hadn’t be announced last week that she will also be partnering with Hain to launch Stewart-branded poultry, baked goods and pastas. Is she becoming the next Kate Moss? What do the Martha fans think? Will her endorsement be persuasive? Or is she officially over-exposed? (Lukovitz, 2009).
Tang, S. (2009, October 29). Seinfeld Back With the Mac in Latest Curb Episode. tuaw.com. Retrived November 4, 2009, from
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/29/seinfeld-back-with-the-mac-in-latest-curb-episode/
Lukovitz, K. (2009, October 30). Martha Stewart Promos Mars’ Dove Chocolate. mediapost.com. Retrived November 4, 2009, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116363
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I’m not a fan of celebrity endorsements, I usually find them disingenuous, unless it involves a charity or a product that they passionately believe in. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any genuine product endorsements. I’m also not a Martha fan. In my mind, I associate her with tax evasion and jail. So, it’s obvious that I’m absolutely not the target demographic for this ad campaign!
Although celebrity endorsements are terribly expensive and cannot always guarantee that the celebrity will maintain the exact image that the brand wants them to(ie. Kate moss), I generally have no problem with them. They definitely gain the attention of the masses as a result of our celeb-obsessed culture.
I think Martha Stewart has made her name into an amazingly powerful brand and the empire that she built covers an extremely wide variety of potential products she could align/ partner with. Therefore, her choosing only a select few could be a very smart move for the value of each campaign she gets involved with. Instead of "whoring out" and partnering with a zillion brands, she picks and chooses carefully, making her already powerful brand, of an even higher quality.
Now, I am not the biggest fan in the world of Martha's, however, in response to Mark's comments, I happen to feel that her coming out of jail and maintaining her empire, is an extremely impressive thing. Having done her jail time fairly and having come out still on top is an outstanding example to set for her loyal consumers and viewers(although it of course would be better if she wouldn't have committed the crime in the first place, obviously).
I actually did my senior project on celebrity endorsements in public service advertising and conluded that celebrity endorsements were most effective when there was a "real" connection between the celebrity and the product being endorsed. I am sure there are die-hard Martha fans would be buy products she endorses because of her, but I think the average consumer would not find her credible as a spokesman for "everything"!
I am a fan of some celebrity endorsements. Only because great adveritsers chose great celebrites that make it very believable. Such as Puma, Usain Bolt, even the younh MacGuy Justin Long, Ellen DeGeneres for Amex. When companies invest time to understand audience then finding a celebrity should be the easy part, choosing who can sell your product who too will use it.
With that said, Martha and Dove partisans is not that far fetched but I do believe she is oversell, overkill, and just burntout at thi point in her life. We all get it. Martha is all around everything cook, decor, green thumb.. Frankly I'm just over her.
Post a Comment