Can marketing be too expensive?!?

The Famous Smile


When I first read this article about Julia Roberts earning close to $2 million for a 45 second commercial, it reminded me of the film Lost In Translation. Similar to Bill Murray’s role in the Sofia Coppola directed Best Screenplay winning film, Julia Roberts is a Hollywood celebrity who is brought in to foreign country to promote a home-grown brand.

Lavazza is a manufacturer of coffee products and was founded and still headquartered in Turin, Italy. It has also expanded to coffee shops (80 in Italy and about 20 Expression concept stores worldwide in addition to a chain of Barista shops in India) and coffee-makers. This company keeps itself exciting and fresh with its sponsorship of film festivals and commissioning top-notch photographers to create an annually anticipated calendar.

Although spoken in Italian, even I find the new commercial starring Julia Roberts entertaining and interesting. Its dialogue probably says something along the lines of “Oh, only our coffee will make the gods smile!” and Julia is stunning as Venus. Still, how does one justify spending $1.6 million on the actress alone?

Thinking about it more deeply, however, it isn’t that hard to rationalize this expenditure. Julia Roberts has a internationally renowned million-dollar-smile. Her movies are consistent blockbusters and she is also a rare scandal-free A-lister. Featuring Julia in a commercial is a key strategy to appeal to a wide audience and gain positive associations with the star.

See the lovely Ms. Roberts in the commercial yourself – do you think the $1.6 million was well spent?
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