As in this weeks lectureswe have been talking about consumer behaviour, I thought I would have a think about that and try to look at the different ways marketers attempt to influence consumer behaviour with their adverts. It is widely recognised that through linking celebrities with products, it is a prime way for organisations to cash in on the ‘association principle’ – if I use this perfume/shampoo/face cream, maybe I too will look just like Beyonce! It’s a long shot, but has been shown to be highly effective. Sports starts are eagerly signed to companies such as Nike, in the hope that associating such athletes with their products it immediately conjures images of professionalism and success amongst consumers.
However, the other day I came across an advert that I had not seen before. It was for Motts apple juice, featuring Martia Cross. At first this struck me as strange. Firstly, because most products with celebrity endorsements are either sports goods, cosmetics, perfumes and other beauty goods, or large well known brands such as Pepsi. Motts however, seemed to be aiming its target audience at Mums buying apple juice for their kids, so why did they have celebrity endorsement? Furthermore, Marcia Cross while extremely attractive and well known, is not the usual candidate chosen….after all she’s no Jessica Alba!
Yet on further reflection, I began to see things differently. The other week in a different class we spoke of how authority could influence people’s behaviour and that often marketers used this tactic, especially through association. The example given in the text, was a TV commercial featuring the actor Robert Young waring people against the dangers of caffeine, and instead recommended a caffeine-free brand of coffee, Sanka. The commercial was extremely successful, but why? Robert Young was an actor, clearly with no medical experience so why would so many people take his advice and buy de-caffinated coffee? It was because, as the company had so wisely worked out, people saw him as ‘Marcus Welby,MD’ (the character he played on the TV show.) People associated him with a Doctor, having medical experience, thus linking this with knowledge and authority and were more likely to ‘take his advice’ and buy caffeine-free coffee. (cited from Influence Science and Practice, R B Cialdini.)
It got me thinking that Motts’ campaign, and they in fact had not picked a strange candidate for their celebrity endorsement, they had actually hit pure, subtle genius! Martia Cross is well known for her role on hit TV show Desperate Housewives, where her character is Bree Van deKamp. On the show, Bree upholds strong family and moral values and in recent series has been extremely successful with her catering business and cook books – thus suggesting that she is a knowledgeable and trustworthy source when it comes to healthy living and eating.
Therefore, even though Martia Cross herself is probably not much better to take health advice from than you nor I, because of the association people hold between her and her famous TV character Bree who portrays the ‘perfect housewife’, providing wholesome nutrition to all, mothers seemingly would take her advice when it comes to nutrition for their children. As she gleefully exclaim, Motts contains 2 whole portions of fruit and vegetable and the kids wont even notice! Now, who would turn down an inside secret like that!