Mr. Beckham, you have my attention!
Feb 21st, 2013 by Nadia Gunderson
It’s becoming more and more common to see advertisements or marketing campaigns featuring celebrities. But, how effective is celebrity endorsement? Do sales really increase by having a familiar face on a billboard? I was recently browsing through a magazine and noticed myself stopping my page flipping on certain pages, but not because of a celebrity on the page; rather, I was intrigued by the brand name, the visuals on the page, and the product itself.
I’m not saying that celebrity endorsement is never effective. However, celebrity endorsement alone cannot compensate for a weak brand or ineffective marketing. The ‘star power’ must be accompanied by other elements that contribute to the overall effectiveness of the advertisement. As Richard Burgess highlights in his blog, the celebrity must be “relevant and on-brand”. Companies cannot rely solely on a famous face to sell their product.
The multi-national retail clothing company, H&M, recently launched an advertisement for a men’s underwear line, featuring David Beckham. Yes, the campaign features a celebrity, but in this case, the advertisement had other features that made it effective…at least for me! Check out video below and see if it appeals to you. H&M’s primary customer is young women, so David Beckham shirtless is bound to get the customers’ attention. But that’s not it! The catchy music, the fast pace of the ad, a bit of humor and my personal interest in the H&M brand all played a role in the success of the one-minute clip. H&M understands its primary segment (young women) and what this segment values: hip music, David Beckham and a strong brand.
Overall, celebrity endorsement can be an effective complement to other elements in advertising that appeal to the consumer’s affective attitude (such as music). After segmenting the market, a company must understand the values, interests and needs of the target market. So, no, I probably won’t be going into H&M to buy men’s underwear, but that’s beside the point. The company’s ad caused me to think about the H&M brand by effectively utilizing celebrity endorsement, supplemented by fun music, and a fast pace story: all of which align with the company’s target market’s values.
Though celebrity endorsements might catch some people’s attention, they are mostly bogus. Read my post about Jessica Simpson for Weight Watchers to learn more.