Celebrity Endorsements: Football or Ambiguity

In Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy describes celebrity endorsements as lazy and overrated. He elaborates that they really only work if the celebrities advertise products they have expertise in. However, even in those cases, many viewers often remember the celebrity more than the actual product. A study by Ace Metrix seems to support this idea, for they report that celebrity endorsements often hurt product advertisements, diminishing a product lift by 1.4% on average.

Despite the grim outlook, many brands still attempt celebrity advertisements hoping to beat the average. Of the recent advertisements that we have seen, which sport a celebrity, we have noticed that there are two factors brands can focus on to improve their odds: overemphasize the product benefit and pick a celebrity that is easily seen as an expert in the product’s field.

There are two celebrity endorsed ads below. One clearly focuses on those two factors, and the other seems to focus on... nothing in particular.

 

So football on your phone.

What?

Assassin’s Creed 4 Breaks Out of the Clutter at Comic-Con 2013 with Immersive Marketing

At a major conference that’s famous for its costumes and numerous visual attractions, it is difficult for any game, show, or comic book to really envelop Comic-Con goers within the branding of their product. However, for their new game, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, the Ubisoft marketing team partnered with Attack! Marketing to physically bring fans out of the conference in San Diego and bring them into the golden age of pirates, mimicking a lawless republic in the Caribbean.

With a combination of a classic three-masted sailing ship, cannons firing, and an old fashioned pirate shave, Comic-Con goers were able to be immersed in a one-of-a-kind experience. Removing consumers from the conference itself allowed Ubisoft to shield against distractions from other brands, as well as capturing the attention of multiple senses. Hosting a night party aboard the ship, featuring celebrities  Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Morrison, and Julie Benz added to the buzz of Ubisoft’s new title. A theater room showcasing a demo of the game, hands-on gaming stations, and a photo booth, all while surrounded by pirates on a rocking, rounded out Assassin's Creed 4's experiential weekend.

An App More for the Zombie Fan Than the Brand

Hyundai worked with Robert Kirkman, comic book creator of The Walking Dead, to come out with a mobile application that allows fans and zombie fanatics to create, design their own post-apocalypse vehicle. After designing your anti-zombie vehicle, you are graded on survivability based on the categories of offense, defense, speed, and stealth. After all, in a post-apocalyptic world, its more than about style.

Why We Love This App:

A handful of brands have tried a hand at creating games and mobile applications in hopes of advertising their products. However, due to an over emphasis on their ulterior motive (selling and displaying their products), many of them fail.

Hyundai’s cars are not the main focus of the app. The main focus of The Walking Dead Chop Shop is the flame throwers, barbed-wire bumpers, and reinforced doors. The focus is providing genuine entertainment that zombie-fans actually enjoy and have always thought about. The bonus for the brand is, as this app allows fans to better imagine their post-apocalyptic vehicle, that users will be able to better imagine them with a Hyundai.