The week that Ashley Cole’s ‘sext messages’ were revealed, I walked past a news stand and adorning the cover of every gossip magazine was Cheryl Cole’s gorgeous, troubled face. Whether we admit it or not, we are all intrigued by the lives of celebrities and relish the moments in which their lives are revealed as anything less than perfect. It is for this reason that the world of the celebrity is an asset to the marketing and PR industries, as more often than not their endorsements guarantee increased sales.
PR’s thrive on celebrity endorsements; one snap of Mrs Becks in a Roberto Cavalli dress and sales instantly soar. A friend of mine who works in PR described celebrities as “a blank canvas for advertising space”. This is proven through L’Oreal Elvive’s campaign featuring Cheryl Cole, the infamous ‘Because you’re worth it’ TV advertisement. In the two months following its first slot value sales rose from about 10,000 to over 250,000. Therefore brands are jumping at the opportunity to use celebrities to endorse their products, even if the celeb in question is considered ‘high-risk’ (one which is not necessarily loved by all such as Lady GaGa).
GaGa is like Marmite, you either love or hate her. Considering her catchiest lyrics consist of, ‘Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah, Roma Roma-ma, GaGa, Ohh la la’, Lady G is doing phenomenally well. She has sold more than 8 million albums globally, and her single Poker Face is the most downloaded track since the download chart began. Considering she is very much in the salad days of her certain to be lasting career, this is an outstanding achievement. On a recent work placement within a national newspaper I realised the extent of the GaGa-madness; there wasn’t a day that went by without my hearing her name mentioned several times. The fact of the matter is whether you love or loath Lady G, she has not only created a pop-star sensation, but an entire brand. Whether she is receiving positive or negative press, everyone is talking about her, which from a marketing perspective is fantastic.
Brands are flooding GaGa with endorsement offers, as she is, and seemingly will stay, very much in the limelight. Take Polaroid for instance, a brand which was pretty much extinct due to the rise of digital photography. Polaroid have made a comeback with the help of Lady GaGa who has been appointed their Creative Director, and have launched the Polaroid 300, ‘the new generation of instant camera’. Arguably, this would not have been possible without her, as teens in particular will now consider a Polaroid as ‘cool’. I personally have always been a fan of the Polaroid, and welcome their return with open arms; after all, vintage is in. My pals are in agreement; one saying ‘’that’s so old school! I think it’s swell”.
Another example of brands jumping on the GaGa-wagon is her controversial music video with Beyoncé, Telephone, which is looking to become one of the most viewed videos of all time. The video itself is teeming with blatant product placement, including large brands such as Virgin Mobile and Diet Coke. Such brands initially received criticism for plugging their products in a music video that has received so much negative press due to it’s x-rated content, but whether or not viewers approve, with record viewing figures the not-so-subtle advertising will inevitably increase sales.
Another medium through which marketing and PR companies are utilising celebrities is social media, particularly Twitter. The recent rise of such networking sites has made celebs far more accessible to the general public, and so brands have seized this opportunity for product placement. Paris Hilton regularly mentions her favourite brands in her Tweets, and the lack of subtly suggest she may be being paid to endorse them. For example; ‘Stopped by and picked up some food at Le Scala. I love the chopped salad there, so good! Then a frozen chocolate ice blended at Coffee Bean.’ With Twitter having published it’s 10 billionth tweet last month, brands would be foolish not to jump on the bandwagon. On that note, follow me on Twitter! @christyemmat.
