The Celebrity Bump

A fine line exists between a succesful advertisement campaign and a bad advertisement campaign. More often than not companies waste large quantities of money on advertisements that net them no return. Many companies have looked to commercials or online campaigns with big names to revitalize their lagging business as seen below.

This above ad came out last year mid summer 2011. Take a look at where the stock is today compared to last summer at that time. Yeah. Kenny Powers got his check and K Swiss got a ghetto shoe to the face. The above campaign can be taken as a prime example of what not to do, how to waste money on a failing endeavor. The campaign did lead to a increase in online sales of shoes shortly thereafter, though a faltering business can not be saved in a few sales. "Kenny Powers" could also have just not been a big enough star to get the money spenders going. Either way, this campaign was uh... horrible.

Taking a different approach we can take a look at Dos Equis. We are going to take a look at this company because their ads are nothing short of amazing. Yes Dos Equis does not front a real celebrity, but due to pure marketing genius they have created their own celebrity to give them a bump. The most interesting man was able to increase sales off Dos Equis in the United States while other foreign beers dropped dramatically due to the economy. Now that's good business.

If you watch any television as of late you will have noticed that Burger King has been taking your screen by storm. These advertisements are cute? They have put to work some big stars to sell the healthy options at their stores. An obvious attempt to take on McDonald's perceived healthier menu. The burger King advertisement campaign may be the key to moving the momentum their way. It is nowhere near as creative as the Dos Equis commercial, by the same token Burger King also has a product that's actually worth selling, unlike K Swiss. With such good earnings last quarter and a possible celebrity bump coming soon Burger King may be the king you want to put your money with.

No matter if you are a bull or bear on Burger King, one thing remains true, a good celebrity advertisment can change the landscape for a company. Though Dos Equis created their own celebrity in a sense, many other companies have come leaps and bounds with celebrities. Look around you and heed the celebrities because more often than not that is where the consumers money is headed. If the advertisement campaign is done correctly and the product can actually be sold (unlike K Swiss), then the campaign will net profits.

Here is a good piece by The New Yorker on the guy who plays the most interesting man.