Celebs in ads

Celebrities making a fast buck in adland has turned cool.

Exerpt from the article: There was a time when only two categories of celebrity got into advertising. There were those, such as Liz Hurley and Joan Collins, who despite their best efforts to make it as movie or pop stars, weren’t really much good at anything other than being famous. But fame, once acquired, is an asset in itself, and advertisers have always paid up to exploit it.

And then there were celebrities on the way down, once credible as artists and performers but now reduced to trading off past glories.

That’s okay, because everybody needs to make a living, though there has always been something a little sad about the spectacle of a once noble thespian or formerly fab supermodel reduced to being the frontperson for teabags or Bovril.

Or there used to be, in the days when artists and performers who wanted to retain a shred of aesthetic credibility wouldn’t be caught dead in anything so naff as an ad.

In those days, if artists of the stature of David Bowie wanted to earn a little bit extra on the side they went to Japan, where the same rules didn’t apply. There the Thin White Duke, marketed over here as the epitome of arty inaccessible cool, could appear in adverts for sake and get away with it.

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Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
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yaksox's picture

Hey speaking of celebs going to Japan to do their thing quietly and pick up a pay check -- I just came across Japander.com, which I don't think has been mentioned at adland yet.

CopyWhore's picture

It's a shame that the chance to use a celebrity most often doesn't yield very good advertising. Sara Jessica Parker for hair color? Kind of weak, explicatory babble that Parker would never say. Jerry Stiller and Snoop Dog for AOL 9.0? That's actually not too bad. 'Cause there's an idea there. And the "wait a minizle" gives it a nice, silly punch at the end.

I think, conceptually, the best celebrity tv spot was the George Michael Diet Coke spot from the late 80s, directed by Stephen Frears. Nice metaphor. The matador kills the bull as George kills the crowd. And no lingering shots of coke cans.

Seems they can get it right sometimes...

Dabitch's picture

it's one of the most popular links - check the adland links under 'commercial collection' sites. Japander have been around for many years, and just grows bigger and funnier.. ;)

Dabitch's picture

I nominate the Orson Welles for wine ad the biggest celebrity sellout. ;)

yaksox's picture

Oops, I should'vee looked a little harder.

Dabitch's picture

rate them a 10, they deserve it! ;)

caffeinegoddess's picture

Sometimes. But it's wrong more often than not I think. Just because you can use a celebrity in an ad doesn't mean you should.