Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have dominated on the field, but it was H&R Block that won the Super Bowl with an ad spot starring everyone’s favorite tax victim, Willie Nelson.
The spot, which will run through tax season, parodies Nelson’s run-ins with the IRS to show how taxpayers can benefit from H&R Block’s Double Check Challenge (January PROMO). While most Super Bowl ads are forgotten before the post-game music act, the H&R Block ad continues to resonate with media critics and consumers.
“This was the right celebrity, with the right message, at the right event,” says Karl Ploeger, VP-creative and media services at H&R Block, Kansas City, MO. “We can pick any number of celebrities, but there needs to be a connection back to the company.” H&R Block made sure it had that connection. Other financial services had approached Nelson for endorsement, but the singer declined, according to Ploeger. When it came across an interview in which Nelson said going to H&R Block would have saved him a lot of hassles, the company knew it had its man. “We didn’t pick Willie just because he was a celebrity,” says Ploeger. “We picked him because there was something in his past that connected him to our message. The fact that he is a beloved icon made it even better.” Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis, handles the campaign.
In an age when the famous (and nearly famous and formerly famous) shill for everything from hot dogs to underwear to Viagra, you’d think that celebrity endorsements heavy on glitz but light on credibility would fall out of favor. While many brands are dedicated to teaming with a celebrity that offers credibility as well as awareness, others continue to be starstruck by the idea of landing the latest coverboys and girls. “Obviously there are concerns about how a celebrity behavior might reflect negatively on the brand, but an even bigger concern are celebrities piling on multiple sponsorships,” according to Kathleen Hessert, president at Charlotte, NC-based consultancy Sports Media Challenge. “Many times, brands are just happy to be affiliated with that celebrity, they don’t really care who else is on board.”
Pepsi, Purchase, NY, never met a celebrity it didn’t like. From Michael Jackson in the 1980s to the Osbournes in Pepsi’s most recent Super Bowl ad, the soft drink giant is never without some type of celebrity tie-in. In January, Pepsi replaced Britney Spears with Beyonce Knowles of the R&B group Destiny’s Child and co-star of last summer’s Austin Powers in Goldmember as official spokesperson. Knowles will be featured in two TV spots, as well as radio and Internet ads, point-of-purchase materials, and consumer promotion. Pepsi may also sponsor a solo concert for Knowles in 2003.
Sometimes a celebrity choice draws flack. Buick’s work with Tiger Woods (who also juggles Nike and American Express) has been unfairly called into question, according to Buick advertising director Randall Tallerico. Does it matter if Woods really drives a Buick? Tallerico says people aren’t giving Buick credit for always working with the top stars in golf; that Tiger is even bigger than stars of the past shouldn’t be held against the brand. “Buick has always had relationship with individuals of the highest caliber, from Bob Hope to Tiger Woods,” says Tallerico. “We’re not using Tiger as a shill. He’s not saying, ‘Come in and test drive a Buick.’”
Despite the criticism, Buick has had the last laugh: Sales were up 6.5 percent in 2002 while, the auto industry overall slumped an average of 4.1 percent.
So how do brands tap the right celebrity mouthpiece? “At the end of the day, it’s a combination of research and instinct,” says John Clarke, chief advertising officer at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Plano, TX.
“We establish a criteria by looking at out target audience and certain parameters that would appeal to that audience, such as whether a celebrity is married or has young children,” says Steven Sage, director of consumer promotions at Atlanta-based CPG giant Georgia-Pacific. “We look at Q-Scores but then we weed through the personal preferences of our staff.” G-P, which taps celebrities such as country singer Lee Ann Womack and actress Jane Kaczmarek, also requires its spokespeople to sign exclusive deals keeping them from representing other product lines. “The right celebrities boost media impressions and help put immediate context to the brand,” says Sage.
(Make sure you have the deal, however. Cosmetics retailer Sephora USA has been sued not once but twice for using photos of celebrities in Valentine’s Day promotions without consent — first by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, most recently by Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker.)
Dr Pepper is entering the second round of its “Be You” campaign, which features current celebrities paying homage to originals in their field, such as rapper LL Cool J paying tribute to hip-hop pioneers RUN DMC, and pop artist Anastacia honoring ‘80s pop princess Cyndi Lauper. The current ads feature Spanish pop singer Paulina Rubio honoring “The Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz in both English and Spanish-language spots. “We’re looking for broad appeal, but also specific subsegments,” says Clarke.
Dr Pepper also features country singer Garth Brooks in a standalone spot. “We took a different approach with Garth,” says Clarke. “He said Dr Pepper is his favorite soft drink and he’s enough of an original on his own.”
Other brands are foregoing celebrities for “real people,” citing a boost in credibility. Milford, CT-based sandwich chain Subway has used Jared Fogle since January 2000 after noticing a feature in Men’s Health describing how Fogle lost 245 pounds in college thanks in part to a Subway diet. “This is an average kind of guy that appeals to the masses,” says Subway spokesperson Les Winograd. “It’s succeeded because he’s not a celebrity. There’s no extra hype or pre-conceived idea of how he should act.”
The campaign has prompted other “real people” to write in with their stories, and Subway has used some in its campaigns, although Jared remains the focal point. “I don’t see us using a celebrity, at least not for the weight loss theme,” says Winograd.
Minneapolis-based CNS — makers of Breathe Right nasal strips — has gone even more grassroots, entering the third year of its ActiveElite program, which taps local athletes — such as 10K runners, triathletes, and mountain bikers — as spokespeople. CNS recruits through The Active Network, La Jolla, CA, and its agency, The Active Sports Marketing Group, asking participants to represent the Breathe Right brand at races and to sample products among their peers. CNS also offers ActiveElite members a media incentive program; participants get cash every time local media mentions them and the Breathe Right brand. “We call this a credibility continuum,” says Steve Peterson, CNS senior marketing communications manager. “Word of mouth from people you know and trust offers more credibility than your basic ad campaign.”
There’s also a new game plan for many professional athletes. Team Yao is a marketing strikeforce set up in anticipation of 7-foot-5 Chinese basketball sensation Yao Ming making his debut in the NBA this year as center for the Houston Rockets. The team includes agents from BDA Sports Management, Yao’s advisor Erik Zhang, and John Huizinga, deputy dean of the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.
“The sports marketers dealing with Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have done an excellent job,” said Bill Sanders, director of marketing at BDA Sports, in an interview with ESPN.com. “But many have questioned the credibility of Michael endorsing Ballpark Franks or Tiger endorsing Buick since you won’t likely see Jordan eating a hot dog or Tiger driving that car. We want to learn from that and make sure that Yao doesn’t do any endorsement that will harm his credibility.”
Many celebrities have been making more news for their private woes than anything else. Having a close relationship with any celebrity can be tricky business, but a tie to one whose personal and professional life is troubled, can be especially challenging for marketers. “The extent of the damage depends on how closely aligned the celebrity is with the brand’s image. If they’re featured across multiple channels like TV and P-O-P, it has a lasting effect,” says Hessert. “If it’s a one-time deal, maybe not. Also, some brands don’t want a squeaky clean spokesperson, they feel their brand is edgy.”
With tongue firmly in cheek, New York City-based fashion designer Marc Jacobs has tapped actress Winona Ryder to appear in its spring/summer 2003 ad campaign after Ryder wore the designer’s outfits to her shoplifting trial last year. The designer had no comment, but like Willie Nelson’s dig at the IRS, it’s a smart way for Ryder to get back in front of the camera.
For the most part, however, brands just hold their breath and hope celebrities stay out of trouble. Several years ago, Hessert served as an expert witness in a lawsuit involving a brand that wanted to terminate its relationship with a celeb who had been naughty. It was nothing major, but the brand received thousands of e-mail complaints about their association. The brand lost the suit, prompting morals clauses to get even tougher. “You can do all the research you want going in but it’s the behavior coming out of a deal that you have to worry about,” says Clarke.
And unexpected tragedy. Before the Dr Pepper ad featuring RUN DMC aired, group member Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) was murdered in New York City. After discussions with the surviving members of RUN DMC and Mizell’s family, Dr Pepper continued with the campaign as a tribute.
Brands must also beware a celebrity scorned. Britney Spears has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Manhattan Beach, CA-based Skechers USA, charging that the footwear manufacturer used her to promote their own roller skate line called 4 Wheelers By Skechers, rather than the Britney Spears 4 Wheelers originally planned.
The suit also contends the Britney-branded skates fell through because Skechers dragged its heels in finding an outside manufacturer to produce the skates. Sales for the Britney Spears 4 Wheelers disappointed, and as a result Spears says she didn’t receive bonus royalties. Spears also charges that Skechers dropped out of an agreement to sponsor her 2001-2001 Dream Within A Dream tour. The singer is seeking $1 million in damages for the endorsement deal and another $500,000 for the tour sponsorship.
Not the kind of publicity the brand was looking for.
