Celebrity Endorsements

[SkyDog58]

Who here is actually influenced by celebrity endorsements? Do you actually buy a product because some dumb jock or actor, etc. endorses it? If so, why?

Are you willing to pay more for a pair of athletic shoes or other item because some famous person's name is on it?

Do you wear jerseys with a player's name on the back?

Personally, I have never understood any of this and have never fallen prey to this sort of marketing but it must obviously impact a large enough number of people for the companies to pay celebs the big bucks that they do. I also wonder if the folks who do walk around wearing another person's name on their back are more likely to throw money away on products hyped by these same people.

 

[Geico266]

No one will admit to it. Celebrity endorsements are powerful advertising tools. Subconsciously, they work very well.

Advertisers use to be able to run "split second ads". They would flash the product name on the screen like "Coca-cola" so fast you could not see it, but subconsciously your brain registered it. They banned these types of ads because they were successful.

Marketing research and advertising are amazing subjects.

 

[Dr. O]

For the lower socioeconomic groups celebrity endorsements are the path to riches - for both the merchant and the endorser.
As we move up the income ladder I tend to believe that celebrity has less impact on purchasing decisions.
I know it is a negative number with me, but then I have always been an outlier

 

[FastEddieB]

Advertisers use to be able to run "split second ads". They would flash the product name on the screen like "Coca-cola" so fast you could not see it, but subconsciously your brain registered it. They banned these types of ads because they were successful.

I thought that turned out to be way overhyped.

Here's an episode of Skeptoid on the topic:

http://skeptoid.com/mobile/4063

 

[sourdough44]

For the lower socioeconomic groups celebrity endorsements are the path to riches - for both the merchant and the endorser.
As we move up the income ladder I tend to believe that celebrity has less impact on purchasing decisions.
I know it is a negative number with me, but then I have always been an outlier

I'm along the above lines. I also think they work for many. Look at all the high end 'accessories' with celeb endorsements, watches, handbags, bling, whatever.

It may be senseless, but many what what they are selling. Of course not senseless with the $$$ involved.

 

[catmandu]

I very rarely respond to advertising of any sort, other than to maybe go do some research about something. Hell, with the DVR, I rarely watch commercials any more.

I'm sure Geico will show me a study by a team of crackpots that my subconscious mind thinks otherwise, but that would be untrue and I would consider it slander, and my attorneys at The Cochran Firm will be giving him a call.

I do wear a jersey with a player's name, usually only when I actually go to a game, or very occasionally when watching a game on the TV at a social gathering.

 

[Everskyward]

I recently read that this can be a risky tactic for a company because real people occasionally engage in behavior you might not want associated with your product.

 

[steingar]

Humans are basically just apes with a few fancy tricks. Ape communities follow alpha individuals, most pack animals do. Celebrities are our alpha individuals. I am unsurprised they can sell things.

 

[FastEddieB]

I very rarely respond to advertising of any sort...

You may think you don't, but...

...by the time you actually decide on a new Kia, for example, the stupid image of a Soul being driven by hamsters does inform your decision on some level.

When deciding on a U.S.-made truck, "Like A Rock", "Quality Is Job 1" and "Built RAM Tough" are all rattling around behind the scenes as we make our 100% rational choice.

It's fine to think we're all fully rational, analytical deciders, but advertising does have effects - conscious or otherwise.

 

[eman1200]

I will be buried wearing my NY Rangers Brian Leetch jersey. U got a problem with that?

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I see a lot of "designer" labeled stuff on the students I work with.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Celebrities & products? Zero influence.
Celebrities endorsing politicians or political stances? I am quite likely to 'immediately take the other side'.

 

[docmirror]

You may think you don't, but...

...by the time you actually decide on a new Kia, for example, the stupid image of a Soul being driven by hamsters does inform your decision on some level.

When deciding on a U.S.-made truck, "Like A Rock", "Quality Is Job 1" and "Built RAM Tough" are all rattling around behind the scenes as we make our 100% rational choice.

It's fine to think we're all fully rational, analytical deciders, but advertising does have effects - conscious or otherwise.

Advertising works. On everyone to some extent.

I just shopped for a new utility vehicle, and yes - I went in and talk to the Kia folks about the Soul. We rented one last winter while on a trip and I gave it an honest eval and found it to be a nice but unspectacular little car. What brought me back in to look at them was the low price of the entry model. I can honestly say that compared to the Nissan, Honda, Ford offerings, I was sold on the Soul based mostly on it's price. Some of the other cars had slightly better features, but they couldn't match the rock-bottom TCO of the Soul.

I wound up not buying one, we bought a truck instead. I was all set to buy a Ford but actually found one of those return Dodge trucks at a dealer that I got a heck of a deal on so we grabbed it last day of the month(closeout for dealer).

I can't say I wasn't affected by those hamsters, I think the ad campaign was cute, sharp and fun. Maybe subliminally it got me to ask for the Soul when we rented, I don't know. What I do know is they are an amazing bargain for the entry level car, if you don't want a lot of bling.

 

[Zeldman]

Does not impress me at all when some celebrity/sports person endorses a product they claim changed their life that he/she has never used or even heard of before the big fat endorsement check came in.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

No. All my purchases boil down to 1 thing.

That one thing: What is the least expensive way to do what I want?

Then my wife adds: Will him getting the cheapest one mean it is a POS and he will end up getting pizzed at it breaking it, and then buying the good one anyway?

 

[Mtns2Skies]

Celebrity endorsements do not work... unless it's Harrison Ford... I think thats why I want a Dehavilland Beaver :wink2:

 

[Norman]

Celebrities are our alpha individuals.

No damned wonder this country is going down the tubes. Nobody cares about anything other than twerking.

 

[Number7]

Does not impress me at all when some celebrity/sports person endorses a product they claim changed their life that he/she has never used or even heard of before the big fat endorsement check came in.

My wife can attest that I usually have no idea who the 'celebrity' is that is hawking something, anymore.

 

[catmandu]

You may think you don't, but...

...by the time you actually decide on a new Kia, for example, the stupid image of a Soul being driven by hamsters does inform your decision on some level.

When deciding on a U.S.-made truck, "Like A Rock", "Quality Is Job 1" and "Built RAM Tough" are all rattling around behind the scenes as we make our 100% rational choice.

It's fine to think we're all fully rational, analytical deciders, but advertising does have effects - conscious or otherwise.

Well I am sure there is some stuff rattling around, but I don't buy new cars (30 years of well used Fords, although 10 year old Audis are creeping into the mix), go generic on food and household items, don't have medical issues to 'discuss with your doctor', hit the scratch and dent aisle for appliances, etc.

Oh wait, did Van's Aircraft buy a schedule of ads for Battlestar Galactica a few years ago? Okay, then, you are absolutely right: advertising works!

 

[Bob Noel]

I can't think of a single celebrity whose endorsement would mean anything to me wrt buying something.

 

[kyleb]

No. All my purchases boil down to 1 thing.

That one thing: What is the least expensive way to do what I want?

Then my wife adds: Will him getting the cheapest one mean it is a POS and he will end up getting pizzed at it breaking it, and then buying the good one anyway?

I'm with you and your wife. Does it serve the need, and is it a good value for my situation? For a one use tool, I'll go to Harbor Freight. For an everyday use item, I want something that will work every day for a lot of days in a row.

I could give a rat's about which celeb recommended it. My friends' recommendations have a lot more credibility.

 

[FastEddieB]

(30 years of well used Fords...)

Well...

 

[RJM62]

Advertising works. On everyone to some extent.

I just shopped for a new utility vehicle, and yes - I went in and talk to the Kia folks about the Soul. We rented one last winter while on a trip and I gave it an honest eval and found it to be a nice but unspectacular little car. What brought me back in to look at them was the low price of the entry model. I can honestly say that compared to the Nissan, Honda, Ford offerings, I was sold on the Soul based mostly on it's price. Some of the other cars had slightly better features, but they couldn't match the rock-bottom TCO of the Soul.

I wound up not buying one, we bought a truck instead. I was all set to buy a Ford but actually found one of those return Dodge trucks at a dealer that I got a heck of a deal on so we grabbed it last day of the month(closeout for dealer).

I can't say I wasn't affected by those hamsters, I think the ad campaign was cute, sharp and fun. Maybe subliminally it got me to ask for the Soul when we rented, I don't know. What I do know is they are an amazing bargain for the entry level car, if you don't want a lot of bling.

Rich

 

[docmirror]

Rich

I see the family resemblance.

Nice fur.

 

[catmandu]

Well...

"Quality is Job 1"

More like "Us teenage construction laborers beat the Ess out of the company trucks on the job site in the early 80's, and they never even batted an eye!" At that age, we could care less about quality, the only job we were worried about was blowin' in the wind, so to speak. And that was all about quantity, not quality (idiots that we were).

But maybe I should search YouTube for commercials of the era, when that slogan first came out. Maybe some subliminal messages were passed on to me by some truck washing scenes to the tune of "Cherry Pie".

Oh wait, that was 1990. Well, you get the drift.

 

[Neal Howard]

I bought a bright red "Make America Great Again" Donald Trump cap. I may have to quit wearing it in public because too many people keep coming up to me asking to buy it. Buy your own from his website dang it!

 

[Matthew]

How could you not want insects to die after this ad?

 

[ksandrew]

I would say that advertising puts me off a product.

The only difference between the beer that I buy (budget) and the premium brand of beer is that I do not get to see the name of my beer on the side of a race car.

When a prof golf player tells me what kind of oil to use in my tractor I do question his qualifications, sure he can hit a golf ball straight, am I supposed to assume he is also an expert on lubrication?

I have not had a working television since they went digital.

Every time a pass a Starbucks I save $5.00, I keep driving.

Life is a barrel of fun.

Ken

 

[cowman]

What always bugs me more than the regular advertising are the political endorsements.

Am I supposed to think because they were in some war movie that they suddenly are an expert on foreign policy or something?

 

[Mason]

Would you buy a Chevy from THESE GUYS?

 

[TEFLONSEAN]

Color me guilty......

I wear a lot of favorite sports team jerseys....

Heck...I even have a George Forman grill that I use from time to time for over 10 yrs.

Oh yeah I'm a celebrity endorsement whore.

I'm influenced no doubt.....by the things that I find useful or that I like....if it comes with an endorsement guess I may pay more....IDGAF!!

Imagine if Garmin gets a sports endorsement......all you anti glass folks will be happy happy!!

 

[Number7]

I will admit that I started to faithfully eat at Chic-Fil-A after the loony toon lefties went ape because - gasp - some executive actually said he supported the traditional definition of marriage. Once the crazed dogs of the left went after them, I knew I needed to start eating there.

 

[Bob Noel]

I bought a bright red "Make America Great Again" Donald Trump cap. I may have to quit wearing it in public because too many people keep coming up to me asking to buy it. Buy your own from his website dang it!

Question: where was that cap made?

(not attacking Trump or anyone else... just wondering if the cap is imported or made in the USA)

 

[overdrive148]

I will admit that I started to faithfully eat at Chic-Fil-A after the loony toon lefties went ape because - gasp - some executive actually said he supported the traditional definition of marriage. Once the crazed dogs of the left went after them, I knew I needed to start eating there.

Who gives a toss about what a fast food company deems acceptable circumstances for marriage? I eat there because it's on-level price, good tasting fast food, their employees are paid well and give almost across the board great service.

Also really anti-advertisement. If you push stuff in my face every time I try to do something, I will almost go out of my way to buy something else if I need it.

 

[RJM62]

I will admit that I started to faithfully eat at Chic-Fil-A after the loony toon lefties went ape because - gasp - some executive actually said he supported the traditional definition of marriage. Once the crazed dogs of the left went after them, I knew I needed to start eating there.

I've done things along those lines. I consider boycotts to be nothing but economic terrorism, so when I hear that some company is being boycotted, it make me more likely to buy from them. I don't even care what the reason for the boycott was. I just don't like boycotts.

If a company caves to a boycott, on the other hand, I most likely will never buy from them again.

Rich

 

[KeithASanford]

Advertising is tricky. I remembered this commercial but not the product.

 

[FastEddieB]

There was recently a Nissan ad that had a group of friends watching an older Nissan get crushed at the recycler.

Don't get that one at all - seems to send a downcast message about the ultimate fate of any new car.

 

[Matthew]

Be right back, I got me a car to rent:

 

[SteveCanyon]

I would buy any sports drink that Lance Armstrong was pimping.

 

[X3 Skier]

For the lower socioeconomic groups celebrity endorsements are the path to riches - for both the merchant and the endorser.
As we move up the income ladder I tend to believe that celebrity has less impact on purchasing decisions.

OTOH, who the hell would pay $1500 for a purse or $5000 for a suit except those at the top of the socioeconomic ladder who want to be compatible with their peers.

As for me, I have no clue who is endorsing anything so it has no impact on me.

Cheers