Celebrity branding

In 2001, actress Anna Friel and her partner David Thewlis, who posed for fashion photographer Henry Bond, were reportedly paid £50,000 to appear in Mulberry's 2001 autumn/winter campaign.

Celebrity branding is a type of branding or advertising in which a celebrity becomes a brand ambassador and uses his or her status in society to promote or endorse a product, service or charity.

Usage

Actress and model Lin Chi-ling at the LG New Chocolate Phone launching event for the BL40, 2009, Hong Kong

Celebrity branding can take several different forms, from the appearance of a celebrity in advertisements for a product, service or charity, to a celebrity attending PR events, creating his or her own line of products or services, or funher name as a brand. The most popular forms of celebrity brand lines are for clothing and fragrances. Some singers, models and film stars have at least one licensed product or service which bears their name. The use of a celebrity or of a sports professional can have a huge impact on a brand. For example, sales of Nike golf apparel and footwear doubled after Tiger Woods was signed up on a sponsorship deal.

Celebrities also provide voice-overs for advertising. Some celebrities have distinct voices which are recognizable even when faces are not visible on a screen. This is a more subtle way to add celebrity branding to a product or service. An example of such an advertising campaign is Sean Connery's voice-over for Level 3 Communications.

Celebrity branding is a global phenomenon and it assumes paramount importance in countries like India, where the public may treat celebrities as virtual demi-gods. There is a certain correlation between successful celebrity branding and brand endorsements. More recently, advertisers have begun attempting to quantify and qualify the use of celebrities in their marketing campaigns by evaluating their awareness, appeal, and relevance to a brand's image and the celebrity's influence on consumer buying behavior.

However, in some cases the celebrity did not give permission to be associated with the brand and was wrongly attributed to the brand. For example, on July 23, 2008, Taco Bell launched their "Why Pay More?" campaign and used 50 Cent's name and trademark as a way to endorse their low-cost menus. 50 Cent was unaware of this endorsement and therefore sought out legal action. He filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell and sued for $4 million. He won the case.

See also

• Promotional model
• Influencer marketing
• Testimonial
• Staunton chess set (1849), possibly the first product marketed through celebrity endorsement

Further reading

• Hamish Pringle (John Wiley & Sons, 8 April 2004) Celebrity Sells, ISBN 0-470-86850-3.
• Gerrie Lim (Cyan Books, 1 September 2005) Idol to Icon: The Creation of Celebrity Brands, ISBN 1904879187 and ISBN 978-1904879183.
• Jessica Evans, David Hesmondhalgh (Open University Press, 31 July 2005) Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity (Understanding Media), ISBN 0335218806 and ISBN 978-0335218806.