Let’s talk about celebrities. In this second part of our series on advertising, Advertising towards Dummies, we’ll look at the marketing machine called Hollywood – which is geared perfectly towards us people, mostly of younger age, who are looking for direction in their lives. Celebrities fulfill this need for role models; and the entertainment industry sells these celebrities to companies who are looking to connect their products and services with a larger-than-life utopia. It’s a dream business.

A standard in advertising is to use the perfect model – a well-liked celebrity – in order to attract attention, brand, and build an image. Celebrities are our heroes; what applied to kings and dukes before the modern ages now is true for them. People look up at them and put stock in their opinion because they love them. We love the supernatural role models because they live the lives we dream about.

What is true for Hollywood sometimes applies to Washington, D.C. as well. A stage as slippery as politics inevitably comes with an entertainment factor – a factor that doesn’t always come from the inside: protagonists attract people’s attention by definition. So sometimes, we spectators get lucky to witness a moment that deserves gossiping about just because it’s so fantastic and out of the ordinary. This is a marketer’s dream not only in the United States:

Photo source

In this billboard for underwear brand Bruno Banani, I doubt it was solely about lingerie. In April this year a 1000 Square foot billboard of much loved German Chancellor Angelia Merkel and other prominent German politicians and celebrities was mocked up in front of Berlin’s strip mall Ku’damm. Angela was clad in a purple bra and matching panties – now that’s buzzworthy!

Campaigning for political support is one of the ways the candidates get the word out to us. There is a lot of dirty pool going on, as we very well know, but everyone is fair game when it comes to advertising. Or so it seems. Every piece of information we get, be it through a newspaper story, a magazine feature, or advertising, contributes to the manifestation of an opinion. It’s called building a brand image and the word ‘brand’ can stand for anything you want. Bubble gum, General Motors, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Irak – it doesn’t really matter what it is.

The slogan used in the above billboard says,

We do our best to stimulate the economy.

- the copy then goes on to say, “trade in an old pair of undies and get € 5.- off a new pair!” In advertising, even the perceived claim is interchangeable and in this case, it’s not really about saving $7 when you buy new underwear. It’s more about creating brand awareness and the “saving factor” only offers an added hook to remember the ad’s context. I doubt that many people will take their old undies to the store just to save a couple bucks. So what is really being advertised here?

Advertising is always looking to improve the messages. New paths are approached – over-saturation makes it necessary to stand out. In this case, it does make me wonder if this billboard ad has a subliminal political statement. Germany’s current Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is running against Angela for the highest office in the country in September of this year, is featured on it as well – in a very confident pose right behind Angela Merkel. Given the slogan of the ad, doesn’t Angela look a little featherbrained in contrast? Flashes of my country’s presidential race are coming to mind. I think that at least to a point, this is a piece of the puzzle of the political campaign of competitor Steinmeier.

For those of you who are not aware of Angela’s accomplishments – she is the first woman to be chancellor of Germany. She is also the president of the European Union. Forbes Magazine has named her the most powerful woman in the world 2006-2008. In 2008 Merkel received the Charlemagne Prize after working to reform the European Union.

Billboards. When I see one, what attracts my attention is the scale of it, and the person on it. It is interesting to see advertising billboards that are placed so high above the buildings. They are not only larger than life, but also higher above the ground than anything else. Closer to the sky, so to speak. That’s superiority in extenso.

The picture, or message, becomes complete with all the other ads around us. Cafes, buses and train stations are places where you will find the smaller versions of billboards in poster form. Other posters appear in the street and on the outsides of buildings. Many times they are at eye level to gain the attention of commuter traffic and pedestrians.

The movie with the sarcastic title Thank You For Smoking is about the spokesperson of a tobacco company’s lobby organization (fantastic and hilarious movie, you should watch it!). His tasks include negotiating deals with Hollywood bosses, or bribing the Marlboro Man so that he doesn’t sue the tobacco company for his cancer. In the former case, there is an upcoming movie that our man would like to use to promote cigarettes. It’s a space movie… Nothing is impossible in advertising, right?

Product Placement

So let’s talk about product placement in movies to complete the circle we started. Product placement is a great trade-off between the entertainment industry and advertisers. In the marketing mix (the 4 P’s) it clearly belongs in the ‘Promotion’ category. You know product placement when you watch a movie and the hero is eating a bag of Lay’s or doing a search on Google. Embedding advertisements into entertainment is an attempt to build an emotional bond with consumers – real-life products in a fictional story contribute to brand ubiquity quite a bit.

In a couple James Bond movies, Pierce Brosnan drives a BMW. Then Mr. Bond drives his BMW off the rooftop of Hamburg’s Atlantic Hotel Kempinski right into the Avis Dealership he rented the car from in the first place.

More of the products used in James Bond movies are Perrier Mineral Water, British Airways, IBM Computers, Jack Daniel’s Black Label Scotch, and Smirnoff Vodka. The Omega watch has been the watch worn in Bond movies since 1995 when it replaced Rolex.

A little trivia about Omega: Omega has been the official timekeeper for Olympics since 1932 and will be used again at the Winter Olympics in 2010. The first watch on the moon was worn by Buzz Aldrin and was a Omega.

James Bond is not the only walking advertisement though.

• You’ve Got Mail – America On-Line (AOL), Apple, IBM, New York Times and Starbucks.
• Austin Powers – Pepsi and Starbucks
• Cast Away – FedEx and Wilson Sports equipment
• Men in Black II – Ray-Ban sunglasses, Mercedes Benz, Sprint, Burger King
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider – Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
• Knocked Up – Google, E! Television Network, Red Bull, Sierra Pale Ale, BMW, and Apple computers
• The Bourne Ultimatum – Google, Nokia, Norton Anti-Virus, Motorola Razr, BMW, Volkswagen Touareg, and Mercedes
• Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and The Haunted Mansion (2003) – based upon theme park rides
• Sex and the City – Apple computers, Marlboro, Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Cartier, Christian Dior, Jimmy Choo, Absolut  Vodka, Fendi, Oscar de la Renta, and Durex.

The above is only a tiny fraction. I don’t intend to cover all product placement that has taken place since the dawn of modern advertising – almost every movie that comes out today is co-sponsored by at least one commercial product.

So when you watch a movie, be aware that the celebrity in it is only a celebrity because of his or her popularity among their fans. And down at the very core, deep inside – what is a fan like everyone else in the world?

A consumer!