Tuesday In India: Celebrity Zoo

‘We paid her a bag of money to smile with our product.’

You’ll never hear companies openly talking about this fact.

They are always suggesting the thought that those celebrities somehow themselves chose the product, that they actually use it daily, that they would continue using it even behind the closed doors.

In India, where celebrity endorsement is booming crazily, I frequently feel locked in a freaky advertising fun fair.

Often while going through a newspaper I feel like going through someone’s photo album: here she smiles with her favourite whitening cream which is 'the secret to her beauty', there she playfully teases with her new smart phone which is 'the best for her and us', of course... In the next page she shows her glowing shaved legs and rejoices with V sign for 'how the beauty feels like'. Then you close the last page just to find someone familiar offering you a soft drink 'which brings pure pleasure'. Oh, it’s the same actress, of course.

Obviously, you can’t stay neutral if reading newspaper is your morning ritual for past fifteen years.

And since I wasn't raised in such a celebrity obsessed culture, it makes me feel weird.

Bored.

Sad and angry thinking of unused potential.

Sometimes you can actually cut particular actor’s faces and poses from all the ads, put them on each other and… get the exact same view. All of them could be from his Facebook profile pictures and no one would notice. Because the only thing changing is the product and the slogan on the side.

Then you understand that a brand doesn’t necessarily need a good product for the market. It just needs good money to buy a famous enough person to pose with a product.

And this nasty thought knocks unstoppably on my door – isn’t it a sly but way too easy strategy for clever companies who want to be perceived as innovative and inspiring? Isn't the brand just being lazy to create something original and therefore choosing an effortless path to piggy back on the fame of someone else?

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your view on celebrity endorsement. Are you more likely to buy a product with a famous brand ambassador? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

P.P.S. Need some help on creating your Marketing Campaign? Let's do this together.