We came across a rather interesting article today on Autoblog entitled Automakers Need to Stop Stalking Celebrities. It’s about the fact that so many manufacturer’s choose to give celebrities certain cars for award shows like the Oscars etc, but how much does it really do for the brand?
“Since the invention of the automobile, cars and stars have gone together like paparazzi and the Kardashians, so by association getting a celeb behind the wheel of your car brand gives it an instant image boost that must make the car more attractive to buyers.”
“But surely the millions of dollars spent giving free cars to rich stars is a waste of precious and increasingly smaller marketing budgets. It’s time to make the car the star, not the other way around.”
We have to agree to a certain extent. There are a few celebrities in South Africa who become “Brand Ambassadors” and are given a free car, but do they really sell more cars for the manufacturer? Do you see a famous person and think, “Just because he/she drives one, I want one,” and you go out and buy yourself that exact car? There is most certainly a place for using famous faces in your advertising campaigns, but giving celebrities a free car to use at events? We are not so sure of.
“If only it were as easy as just giving a celeb your car to drive and sales success followed like a Lady Gaga tweet.”
“In the end it really doesn’t matter which car the star leaves with their award in, or how it carries character from scene one to scene two. What matters is whether the audience remembers the story they were told and if that reflected well on the car”
Let us know what you think about manufacturer’s and celebrities on our Facebook page.
Source: www.autoblog.com
Image Credit: AP Photo by Joel Ryan via Autoblog
