I was a bit surprised when I saw Ryan Reynolds pitching a phone service in a commercial the other day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvW5YS6iXPA
After the industry agreed that the $10 million dollars T-Mobile paid Catherine Zeta Jones to be their spokesperson in 2007 was a colossal waste of money, people shied away from celebrity presenters for years.
But celebrities have clearly made a comeback since then.
A bit more research unearthed the fact that Ryan is more than a spokesperson as he has an equity stake in the company. But what does a college dropout know about phone service? And does it matter?
Have you bought a brand that a celebrity sells? Which one and why? Was the celebrity an expert on the product or just someone that you like? Which MBTI preferences might be more easily persuaded by celebrities? Why?
(2019, November 25) Ryan Reynolds Purchases Ownership Stake in Mint Mobile. globalnewswire.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020, from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/11/25/1951947/0/en/Ryan-Reynolds-Purchases-Ownership-Stake-in-Mint-Mobile.html
9 comments:
From watching the ad, Ryan Reynolds apparently doesn’t have a clear idea about the phone service. However, I think it doesn’t matter because his celebrity effect is what the company wants to appear to the customers in this ad. In other words, the company doesn’t expect Ryan to bring expert effect in this ad because their strategy is to utilize his celebrity effect to attract the customers.
Personally, I haven’t bought any brand that a celebrity sells because celebrity effect is not the factor that will affect my purchase decisions. Most of the times, buying a brand that has celebrity effect often comes with its premium cost, which I don’t really like.
I think that the INFP type of people might be more easily persuaded by celebrities. Since this type of people are idealistic and loyal to their values and to people who are important to them, they will probably be loyal to the celebrities they like, including the brands they sell. Since they want an external life that is congruent with their values, they are probably willing to buy the brands from their favorite celebrities to reinforce their values.
I think that Mint mobile, a small new player in the telecom world, needs to show to some legitimacy to attract customers. However, selling benefits or technological attributes might not be what the target market would respond to. They just want to know it's normalized by a likable person and that its affordable. Ryan Reynolds is a likable and recognizable face, and to be honest I really like him. He is lighthearted and cute. I liked this ad and I thought it would make me curious to know more about Mint mobile. Would I switch carriers? Not with one ad, but maybe if people kept talking about Mint mobile, the service was reputable and it was affordable, it could convince me. As an ENFJ I shouldn't be affected by celebrities, but, hey, who doesn't like Ryan Reynolds? This ad basically says nothing about the phone other than the price and shows a celebrity endorsement. It also makes fun of the Covid zoom tech vortex we are all in. The ad markets successfully to the non-techie.
What does a college dropout know about cell service? Probably as much as I do.... He's just a relatable guy and I am not a tech junky so as long as the phone service works, and someone well-known puts their face to it, I think the ad will do well.
Furthermore on the topic of celebrity endorsement, as someone who does not watch sports, I am always amazed that people love athlete ad endorsements, even on non-athletic products. I always think what does that "dummy" know about "x" product. But people, especially men, must respond to it! I think celebrity endorsements are perhaps more about tribes and culture than personality type. T e r e s a
Recently, companies are investing more and more money to pay celebrities to be their spokesperson. However, it’s important to choose the right celebrities for their products or services, otherwise, it’s just a waste of money. For example, if Michael Jordan is the spokesperson for ZARA, I don’t think this will be a successful ad. Because when people think of Michael Jordan, they automatically connect to basketball and expect the ad is related to sportswear. We need to pay attention to whether the celebrities are suitable for the products. Ryan Reynolds is a really funny actor. And in this ad, he was explaining these phone services while he is trying to be hilarious. Personally, I wouldn’t buy a product just because of the spokesperson cause I care about the product itself. I would say the ENFP type of people might be easily persuaded. Because this type of person is open-minded, and they would love to intersecting with other people. Moreover, other people’s opinions are matter to them.
Zhengbiao Ji
What I liked about the commercial by Ryan Reynolds phone pitching commercial ad on mint mobile. According to research, Ryan Reynolds did diversify his portfolio, following his purchase of a stake in Mint Mobile. Following his career background and pitch deck presentation, it is evident that he is encouraging the streaming services, drawing fans of his movies to switch to mint mobile. According to research, celebrity endorsement play a big role in changing the perception of their viewers especially in terms of their buying behavior. It would not matter so much about where Ryan Reynolds knows about the Mint Mobile phone service. Lebron James’ endorsement of Nike product is an example of a brand that I like considering its close chemistry between the brand and the basketball player. Lebron James is an expert NBA player and so does the brand that he endorses. In comparison to Ryan’s endorsement of the mint mobile phone service, it is more about Ryan Reynolds as a spokesperson come professional actor than the expertise that is required to sell the mobile phone service even better. Brands that do well with celebrity endorsements do better with an expertise background to establish an association between the celebrity endorser and the brand he endorses.
I think it's an interesting strategy for an emerging companies to invite celebrities to be investors/equity holders in exchange for money and their celebrity endorsement. I think it has paid off for some brands like Uber who used their investor Aston Kutcher to help lobby against NYC's regulations of Uber. We have also seen success with celebrities creating their own brand (Kylie Jenner's cosmetics, Yezzy/Kanye sneakers etc.). It makes sense that brands use celebrity endorsements since so many people are in the "S" category (Sensing 73%, vs Intuition, and these personality types respond celebrity endorsement and conformity queues. Mint mobile may be trying to reach a young, impressionable audience (maybe female) that would be influenced by Ryan Reynolds.
I can't think of many instances where I have personally been influenced by celebrity endorsement. As I'm writing this, I'm looking around the room at the different brands I have. Yeti, All Birds, Lulu lemon, EOtech, Northface, camelback, Ecco shoes, Volcom swimwear. I think I find lifestyle brands appealing. All of these brands are positioned in some way in the healthy, outdoors, surfing etc lifestyle space. None of these brands have celebrity endorsements that I'm aware of.
It doesn't surprise me that so many brands turn to celebrity endorsements. I personally don't follow a single celebrity in insta, fb, or twitter. But, so many people are obsessed with celebrities.
James McCann
Using celebrities to be the spoke person is a common strategy nowadays as it helps to put the message out there and influence people faster (every celebrity has their own fanbase). However, choosing the right celebrity for the right product is a big factor and in this case I did not really get a proper idea about the product maybe because I personally am not used to see Ryan Reynold like this. Also I found the overall concept a bit confusing.
I do not think I get much influenced by celebrity endorsement, I always tend to do my own judgment before getting any product or making a decision. In general I prefer to stick with my own taste.
It would appear that Ryan Reynolds does not clearly understand phones and their services. But I don't think that matters because when a company brings in a celebrity to advertise their product or even invest in it, they do so not because stars are experts, but because they carry along masses with them. Meaning that people will result in buying a product just because Ryan Reynolds is advertising it, and they might ultimately assume the fact that he does not understand phone service at all.
I have bought a brand that a celebrity sells, and allegedly co-owns. The brand is "Just Water," a brand of water that is packaged uniquely, and I bought it partly because of the packaging, and mainly because it supports a social cause. According to its manufacturers, Just Water has been in support of cancer awareness, and their aim is to teach people to value water seeing as it is becoming increasingly scarce through their materials and sources. Initially, I did not know the celebrity was involved but seeing as I like Jaden Smith, it motivated me even more. ESFP preferences, in my opinion, would be more likely to per persuaded by celebrities. The reason is that they like attention, and they would be thrilled to associate with celebrities, even by-products.
After watching Ryan Reynolds's ad, it is clear that he has no idea about phone service. I tend to think that it matters a great deal that a person advertising a product understands it so that they can effectively convey the desired message to consumers. In any case, having knowledge about a product would be helpful because they can also bring ideas on the table to aid with the advertising. While some consumers may not have a problem with the presence or lack of knowledge thereof, some exceptionally knowledgeable ones may notice it and use it to make decisions.
I have not bought any product sold by a celebrity. I haven't purchased any not because I don't have celebrity preferences, but because I prefer buying something of quality, regardless of who is selling. Also, I do not think that the person advertising a product should determine its sales and market performance. INFJ is most likely to get persuaded by celebrity advertising. The reason is that they are empathetic, and that is a weakness that advertisers can exploit, and they make decisions based on personal preferences, not facts and consequences.
Rairis Morrobel
Recently Jennifer Lopez partner with Coach. I have always been a fan of Coach purses and jewelry. I have never bought anything that a celebrity is selling, but in this case, a Latina artist is partnering with a brand I like I might be convinced to buy the new purse. In this case, she may not be an expert in the makings of purses but she sure is very fashionable and iconic. My personality type is not easily influenced, which is the reason why I think that I haven’t buy anything that is celebrity related. The personality type that can be easily influenced by celebrities selling a product is ESFP because they are very outgoing and find comfort in commodities and they are mostly the ones to adapt to new things and people.
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