This is something I noticed while I was under the influence of watching Lost. This trio of ads all seemed to express celebrity contradictions of some kind or another. I'll leave it up to you to see if this post makes any more sense than Lost does.
1) Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Healthy Choice
Many/most celebrity endorsement ads fail because it's just not believable that the celebrity would use and enjoy the product. Remember pre-tree Tiger and his Buick spots? So, how to use a celebrity spokesperson like Julia Louis-Dreyfus to endorse Healthy Choice? The answer: Have her in the spots but don't have her endorse the product. That's unusual and a bit contradictory, right? I think that these ads, with great execution, get the balance between credibility and promotion just about right. It's a decided improvement over previous efforts. (The whole "Spokesperson" series can be seen here.)
2) Jon Hamm for Xfinity
Do you want a celebrity for themselves or for the character they portray? This is not Jon Hamm speaking here. It's Don Draper and, as we all know, he's a real pro.
3) Jeff Bridges for Hyundai
Finally, there's the case of Jeff Bridges who has been the voice-over for recent Hyundai ads but will be temporarily replaced by other actors for the seven spots planned to air during the Oscars. He's not done anything wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. He's nominated for best actor in for his role in "Crazy Heart" and the show has rules against ads that feature celebrities running near segments of the program that feature those same stars.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Celebrity ad contradictions: Julia, Jeff and Jon
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