Celebrity Influences - Case Study Example

Celebrities greatly influence lives and employing them to advertise products is a well-known marketing strategy. Celebrities garner a voluminous audience by making advertisements conspicuous, appealing to their fan base and generating PR coverage. However, the inconsistent celebrity popularity and reputation, incompatible celebrity images and overriding popularity of stars over the product being promoted render them as ineffective marketing strategies.Celebrity endorsements benefit new brands by quickly establishing their credibility in the market.

By incorporating skills such as singing, advertisements are made attractive, impacting the minds of consumers; forcing them to choose that product over its competitors. Celebrity endorsed product gets the fan base of the superstar by default due to the fans love and loyalty to the celebrity. Moreover, Celebrity advertisements gain tremendous amount of PR coverage through all forms of media, further broadening the product market.Conversely, using celebrities, at times, can exacerbate the market for a product.

Fame is ephemeral. A celebrity who loses fame is only as influential as any other hired actor for advertising. Furthermore, controversial celebrities affect the credibility of the product they advocate. Celebrity images that do not complement the product such as a tennis star in a wine advertisement instill a negative reaction from consumers. Moreover, frequently, celebrity advertisements aggrandize only the celebritys popularity, overshadowing the product itself. The Beatles, even today, are famous but nobody knows about the wine they once promoted.

Pepsi has experimented with a number of celebrities for its marketing. More often than not, it has suffered from tarnished celebrity images and inappropriate choices such as that of Madonna, Michael Jackson and Spears. However, it has also had successful marketing through celebrities such as Tendulkar. While celebrities do grab consumers psychologically, it is eventually the quality of the product that determines the market. Consumers today are aware of marketing tactics such as celebrity endorsements and so put emphasis on product quality.

Hence, for an old brand like Pepsi, with a well established market, advertisements with celebrities are not needed.Works CitedYoutube. (n.d.). 10 Best Celebrity ads. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from www.youtube.com