Is hiring a celebrity to endorse your brand worth it?
Probably not when you do it like this:
Yes, that’s Usain Bolt, the fastest runner in the world. It might have taken you an extra second to recognise him as he’s, well, in an advert for printer ink.
At an estimated fee of up to $400,000 to have him merely attend your event, he’s also one of the richest people in the world, so this sponsorship won’t have been cheap.
But Epson reckons that he’s such a good match for the brand that he’s now the face of it across Europe and French America.
Not a bad move. Many businesses have chosen him as a spokesperson to great effect.
For example, Virgin Media, who made the most of Usain’s skills and achievements across a wide range of campaigns both serious and silly:
… or Gatorade, who told Usain’s story in a short animated film, accompanied by piece-to-camera shots of him saying he ‘can’t compete’ without the drink:
… or Puma, who used Usain’s unwavering perseverance (while wearing Puma Ignite XT trainers, of course) to motivate audiences:
Inspiring stuff! I’m sure those campaigns were a hit.
Now, let’s see what Epson did with Usain Bolt on their website.
‘Usain knows the value of speed and efficiency, and that’s why he loves Epson’s innovative business products.’
Yeah, I bet.
First thing I think when I think ‘Usain Bolt’ is ‘Now there’s a man who loves a good innovative business product.’ I’ve heard all he ever bloody talks about is Epson's range of specialist solutions designed to enhance business productivity — he’s obsessed!
Scroll and you’ll learn that:
'Usain likes things fast, just like him, and that's why he loves ReadyPrint!'
Not ‘Refill your printer faster than it takes Usain Bolt to win gold’ or ‘Record-breaking ink delivery speed’, but ‘Usain likes fast things ‘cos they’re like him’. Way to make one of the most decorated sportsmen in the world sound about four years old and dense.
‘Usain has been entertaining fans and Epson customers in his own light-hearted way that with Epson’s EcoTank printers, you can literally “Just Fill and Chill”.’
‘Entertaining customers that…’? You can’t ‘entertain someone that’. That’s not how words work. He might entertain the customers, and he might assure or inform or remind them that Epson’s printers are easy to use, but I don’t think he’s ‘entertaining them that’.
It’s all a bit of a pointless reach when the appeal of Usain as a spokesman is beyond obvious:
He’s outstandingly, uniquely, incredibly fast!
Your products are fast and efficient!
Play that up!
They’re almost skirting around making the connection, suggesting that their products aren’t actually particularly fast.
Why bother getting him involved if there’s no real relevance? Nobody believes he’s there because he simply adores Epson printers. And the link between printers and Usain’s work ethic or origin story would require some serious heavy-lifting, at which point you might as well go for a different spokesperson altogether.
Why not go for someone a bit more affordable like former Coventry City goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic, or darts star Fallon Sherrock? Without the speed element, they’re as relevant to the topic of printer ink as Usain Bolt is — in other words, not.
Much as Usain Bolt might make the ads slightly more memorable than if he wasn’t involved, people won’t buy a printer just because there’s a picture of him on their website. Only 13% of Brits let celebrity endorsements affect what they buy, so it’s not about who you’ve got but what you do with them.
If you’re paying big bucks for celebrity involvement, make sure the idea makes sense before hitting up their agent.
And above all else, regardless of who you’re sponsoring, I hope this has 'entertained you that’ the importance of proofreading. 😉
Have a good week, all.