Celebrities in Advertisements

The theme of the week seems to be the use of celebrities in advertisements so I'll add my view. Does using celebrities in advertisements cause risk or reward? 


I believe that using celebrities in advertisements causing both risk and reward. There is no doubt that celebrities come at a high cost but does that cost go further than just the dollar sign? A very known celebrity that caused more cost is Michael Phelps and that was with Subway and Kellogg. When companies choose to use celebrities they are looking for their spokesman to have a positive influence on their target market. However it is a great gamble to use such a well known spokes person because they are now the face of your product and people now will associate your product with that person. In the case of Michael Phelps, his incident being caught using a bong, Subway and Kellogg hit a bigger cost. They used an Olympian who failed to be the role model and positive influence that the companies had anticipated and therefor he lost all credibility. Any buyer who was really turned off by the incident may not want to purchase from the companies that Michael Phelps was the face of.


On the other hand, some companies would never have any recognition unless it was for the face of their payed celebrity. A great example of this is Kim Kardashian and the weight loss supplement Quick Trim. Both her and her sister Khloe advertise for this company and it has become a quick hit solely because these sisters are so popular. With this product I'm assuming that the sales of this supplement have by far outweighed the cost of hiring the Kardashians.  

For the past several years we've all seen commercials for it and have been more than disappointed that we can't get our hands on it. How awesome did Sonic look on T.V and we'd all Google where the closest one was only to find out it was in the next state over. Everyone time I saw a commercial for Sonic I remember asking why they advertise something that isn't even in our state. Finally, Sonic made its way to Connecticut and as soon as it did I realized that they have probably the smartest advertising team out there. The reason Connecticut Sonic's were a hit from the start is because everyone already knew the name and had been wanting to try it from the first time they saw their commercial. Sonic made us crave their food and atmosphere for years so there was no doubt that we all can't help stopping that first time we see their Sonic sign.