Celebrity endorsement is the most irritating form of brand-boosting marketers have yet conceived – and that’s saying something. George Clooney flirting over a Nespresso coffee machine; Andy Murray fumbling for his Rado watch in what should have been his moment of US Open glory; Brad Pitt intoning “Chanel No 5: inevitable” in the new “groundbreaking” scent campaign: the product of such tie-ups is almost always cloying or annoying or both.
When Nike last week dismounted from its increasingly uncomfortable tandem ride with Lance Armstrong, part of me hoped the embarrassment of 16 years’ association with a sportsman accused of serial cheating might end the circus. But it won’t. To quote Brad, celebrity endorsements are “inevitable”. First, they make money for the brand owner. Second, celebrity scandals – however revolting or out of character – have rarely, if ever, sunk a brand completely unless you count damage to the good name of the endorsers.
There are alternatives. Red Bull has helped create the wider celebrity now enjoyed by skydiver Felix Baumgartner – presumably having assessed the potential threat to the brand of a fatal disaster. Dove soap has put “ordinary people” in place of airbrushed models. Social media have given companies with a smaller budget a chance to create buzz without adding an unpredictable starlet to the payroll. But if you have cash and the right product, embrace celebrities, stop worrying – and concentrate on trying to limit the reputational risks they carry.