When I am King...All products will use unknown actors in their advertising.
There’s something sad about the use of famous people to pitch products. I should buy a watch just because a sports star is paid to wear one during an ad? Or I should buy some insurance just because an actor I know is paid to talk about it? Or I should wear a certain kind of bra just because an actress I like is paid to say that she wears it (which, by the way, didn't fit me at all)?
Unfortunately, the system works: we recognize these people, pay more attention to the ads and, for some reason, feel better about buying the products just because these people got paid to endorse them. It’s a sad statement on society that we look to others to make our product decisions for us, even when these other people are not friends and were simply pocketing a check for the odious chore of selling out.
But there’s something even more pathetic about a company that hires unknown actors to do the job. Take, for example, the ad banner below that I ran across recently. You know when they say the name of the actor that (a) they’re not famous enough for you to recognize by sight, but (b) they hope that you’ll at least recognize their name. But sometimes, when the company doesn’t have enough money or sense, neither one is true and we end up with ads like this one. I don’t recognize the face and I’ve never heard her name before.
This situation drew me in further than any famous face would have; I wanted to know more. It turns out that she’s some kind of finance person, famous (I suppose) in circles where people give a crap. This didn’t make me any more interested in the product, but at least I noticed it just because the situation was so ridiculous.
When I am King, all products will use complete unknowns for their advertisements. Products will be chosen based on the curiosity of people to find out more about the people pitching the product: Who are they? Why were they chosen? What does that have to do with anything? Why am I wasting my time finding out?
It’s also possible that consumers will then make choices based on the merits of the products themselves instead of unhealthy interest in someone paid to fake their interest in it. Alright, maybe not.
1 comment:
A known and liked celebrity provides viewers with a familiar face, so that the advertiser can shroud them in an illusion of trust. The first instinct goes like: "my fave celeb thinks this is good, and gives me an inviting smile, therefore it must be so." Oftentimes you also see the same celebrity in the label of the product itself, which only works to enforce the illusion. Incidentally, the celebrity continues to smile when you place him/her in your cart, is shown to the barcode reader, ends up in your shopping bag, fridge, and eventually trash bin.
Sure enough, it gets bizarre if the person in the ad is a complete unknown, especially if the ad conveys the feeling that the person is featured just to market the product. Kinda like when visiting a foreign country, you get blasted with all these ads featuring local celebrities whose mere existence was unknown to you just a moment ago.
On the other hand, having an unknown person in an ad (while giving the impression that the users of the product do or are supposed to know him/her) may be a case of trying to productize the name of a person closely affiliated with the product.
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