From credit cards to sneakers, it is not uncommon to see celebrities endorsing a brand. The basic idea of an endorsement is pretty simple: People like celebrities. So, if a celebrity says that he or she likes a particular product, then people will like that product too. But what happens when that celebrity endorsing your brand brings negative associations? Celebrity scandal has resulted in contracts being terminated, but recently clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch proposed a new alternative.

Abercrombie has offered to compensate reality star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino (a character on MTV’s  The Jersey Shore) to stop wearing A&F products.

“We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino’s association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image,” said a statement on the A&F website. “We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans.”

Initially this sounds ingenious and yes, pretty funny. But it brings into question just how effective celebrity endorsement is.  Can celebrities really transfer their popularity–or in this case, notoriety–from themselves to the brands which they endorse ?

A&F is no stranger to controversy. The company’s catalogs have caught heat for scantily clad models and, though they were later dropped, partial nudity in A&F display photos led to obscenity charges in 2008 in Virginia. So, given its semi-scandalous past, is The Situation’s endorsement really such a situation?

I’m a Roger Federer fan. I set my alarm to wake up on Sunday (at 9 am) and watch with the hopes of him beating Nadal in the final match of the French Open. Well it wasn’t in the cards this year. But while watching the French Open this past weekend I couldn’t help but notice both Roger and Rafa are Nike men. I’m sure I’ve noticed it before but for some reason this year I was distracted by it and the other brand placements.

Addison Whitney is headquartered in Charlotte, also known as NASCAR headquarters. I think the reason the French Open brand placements were so vivid to me was because I had watched the start of the Coca-Cola 600 the weekend before and was amazed at all of the places a logo could go – behind the steering wheel, all over the cars and on the driver. All I could think of was how is this placement a worthwhile investment? How is the ROI measured and justified? In my head the potential conversation might go like this: Me: “Hi Boss, I’d like to spend $20,000 to put our logo behind Dale Jr’s steering wheel.” Boss: “Beth Anne, no. Get out.”

And then I remembered Michael Jordan and Nike. Who didn’t want to be just like Mike? (Do you remember the Gatorade song? “I wanna be, I wanna be like Mike.”) I won’t lie. Young Beth Anne was decked out in Nike and Chicago Bulls gear despite living in Atlanta.

Are today’s athletes really so influential that they can influence brand preference? NASCAR fans are loyal. But do Denny Hamlin fans only use FedEx as opposed to UPS because he endorses it? Again, I love Roger Federer, but I’m not going to seek out Nike or Gillette over other brands because of his endorsement (in all fairness, I am a woman, not a man so I don’t know if that makes a difference).

What do you think about athlete endorsements and the value? Do these endorsements really make a strong impact on a brand or are they just a means to increase awareness?

 

And don’t worry your pretty little head Roger, you’ll get him next year at Roland Garros (and hopefully next month at Wimbledon).

As Tom Hanks said on an Oprah show earlier this season, the phrase “Did you see Oprah today?” is going to be removed from our vocabulary after today. Today marks the end of the 25 year run of The Oprah Show.

Let’s take a moment to relive some of our favorite moments. You get a car and you get a car. Tom Cruise jumping on the sofa. Johnnnnn Traaaaavollltaaaa. Oprah’s Book Club (who read A Million Little Pieces and loved it as much as I did?). Mattie and his poems. Oprah in Texas. Oprah and Tina. Dieting Oprah who made us all feel better about our struggles. The a-ha moments. Oprah’s hair through the years. The ugly cries, especially when Mary Tyler Moore surprised her.

In 25 years, it is not just the show that evolved but also her brand. The Oprah show initially was a little risqué and reminiscent of what became the Ricki Lake show. Slowly over the years, it evolved into a self-help, mentally stimulating, celebratory show. The Oprah brand launched the careers of personalities like Dr. Phil, Nate Berkus, Bob Greene and Dr. Oz. Her endorsement is the golden touch. Marketers strove for just one mention of their brand on the air to have sales explode.

Love her or hate her, you must recognize the impact she’s had on the world. Oprah is a big part of everyday culture (Did you see that on Oprah? Did you read that in her magazine? Did you watch OWN last night?). She used her brand to successfully launch both a magazine and a network at a time when many were struggling to stay afloat. She made topics once considered taboo easy to talk about with friends and family. She told great stories by asking provocative questions. She had the knack of presenting topics or guests in a way that helped people think about them a little differently.

As someone who has grown up watching Oprah, my life has been impacted in a few small ways. I didn’t sleep for a year after watching a show about ghosts when I was younger. I DVRed the Favorite Things episodes so that when I have a bad day I can see the crazy excitement in other people’s faces. I realized (at a young age) that my actions impact the world around me. I can choose for that impact to be positive or negative. And my favorite lesson, “No is a complete sentence.”

No one but Ms. Winfrey knows what her next move will be, but there are millions of people out there eagerly waiting for it. How do you think Brand Oprah will evolve?

Use the comments section to tell us your favorite memories from The Oprah Show.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Picture this. It’s been 69 days since the accident. TV viewers are waiting patiently to see the first rescued miner’s face. He reaches the surface. The rescue capsule is opened. Audiences worldwide look to see his expression and can’t escape the “O.”

If you’ve missed the story on the Chile Miners rescue, check out the details here. This story and the facts about the rescue are remarkable, but what’s really fascinating from a brander’s perspective is the opportunity that Oakley took to illustrated product placement at its finest.

After being underground for such an unimaginably long period of time, the miners needed protection from ultraviolet light when they reached the surface. Conveniently, a Chilean journalist recommended Oakley to the Chilean private health insurer, and the rest is history.

Oakley donated 35 pairs of sunglasses (listed for $180 each on Oakley’s website) to the Chile miners. As a result of their strategic generosity, CNBC reported that the company has received $41 million in equivalent advertising time through the news media coverage of the rescue… Talk about a return on investment.

Oakley has hit gold for their brand image. It’s a win-win. To consumers, the brand comes off as charitable for donating and dependable for being a brand that Chile officials trusted to fully protect the miners. For Oakley, the amount of exposure and revenue from this perfectly positioned helping hand effort will be immeasurable.

Contributed by: Ashley Hollingsworth