madcomments

Is the price of celebrity too high for retailers?

Posted in Advertising, Media, Marketing, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs September 9th, 2008 by Branwell Johnson

Asda has parked Coleen as the face of its George label and is bringing on to the stage “real” people to promote its clothing brand. Are other retailers going to follow suit and send Jamie Oliver, Denise van Outen and other celebrities packing from the aisles?

It’s been the subject of much speculation that these financially straitened times will see the dropping of expensive celebrity endorsements as everyone returns to basic price and value messages. Can it only be as recently as Christmas that Tesco is thought to have paid each of the Spice Girls a million smackers to waltz towards the till?

Commonsense might suggest this is the right strategy for the brands we all use in our every day lives, though obviously not for the aspirational luxury fashion brands, such as Burberry. The money ploughed into hiring a face family from the style or gossip mags could be better used to help price cuts or on some targeted direct marketing activity. Or even on making sure the trolleys in the car park run straight and true.

The latest British Retail Consortium report shows sales have fallen for five months running so the companies cannot have money to burn.

And yet – somehow the British public like the reassurance of a “proper” TV star, or retailers hope they do. Marks & Spencer has just signed veteran actor David Jason to be the voice of its latest food campaign. And I’m guessing that the Christmas campaigns probably even now being readied by Woolies, Sainsbury’s etc are likely to feature some star wattage.

Let’s hope that households still have some disposable income by the festive season to support the fees of the celebs and their agents.

To read the related story visit mad.co.uk