Enrolling a star to promote your product is a tactic as old as advertising itself. But it's surprisingly difficult to do well.
Celebrities and advertising have always gone together. It's said that London stage actress Lillie Langtry may have been the first celebrity brand ambassador, when she endorsed Pear's Soap way back in 1882. In the US, baseball star Babe Ruth plugged Red Rock Cola in the 1930s. And who can forget Michael Jordan's association with Nike?
More recently, of course, social media has given rise to influencers and creators, whose fans regard them almost as friends, and are perhaps even more likely to try a product they recommend.
For agencies and brands, engaging a celebrity presents certain risks. Does the star truly reflect the values of the brand? How committed are they to representing the product, beyond a one-off shoot? And what happens when they go off the rails (drugs, alcohol, violence, sexual assault, you name it) leaving the brand with a huge negative buzz on its hands. You may be better off creating a cartoon character — at least they won't get cancelled.
Nonetheless, celebrity-driven advertising can be effective. The most classic example is no doubt Nespresso's long-running partnership with George Clooney (and friends).
Talking of crime, here's Javier Bardem in the role of a super villain who's clearly had enough of skulduggery. It's for Uber Eats via Mother London and delivers one of the most effective forms of celebrity advertising: stars mocking their own image.
Uber Eats is pretty good at this kind of thing – here's what happens when it plays on "thyme" versus "time" and manages to recruit Cher. The agency is Special Group.
In a similar vein, perpetually angry TV chef Gordon Ramsey sends himself up for a farm-related video game, in this spot from Uncommon Creative Studio in Sweden.
British fashion brand Burberry pulled together a host of UK stars – including Kate Winslet, Aimee Lou Wood, Nicholas Hoult and Richard E. Grant – for a celebration of the country's inclement weather. Which is perfect when you make raincoats. There were several individual films, but this one pulls them neatly together. It's beautifully shot and has a great soundtrack.
The next film is not the first time a star has been inserted into an existing movie using technology, but the match is perfect, as race driver Lewis Hamilton makes off with a Ferrari in an homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off – and his first season with the brand's Formula One team. Apparently, Hamilton himself came up with the idea and steered (ahem) the production.
If you're a fan of Lewis Hamilton, here he is again in a partnership with Peroni, from McCann London. The Italian link makes sense, and the beer brand sensibly doesn't place him behind the wheel.
Taken together, these celebrity projects show how a smart partnership, a sharp script and a clear brand role can transform familiar faces into powerful storytelling tools. Work with this level of craft and strategic alignment is exactly what tends to score highest in our brand new category, so expect campaigns like these to resonate strongly with the jury.
