Celebrities seem to have lost their luster--study shows that ads with famous faces don't work well.

Bet you're not ready for this!

A recent study of nationally televised ads for the first 11 months of 2010 has shown that commercials with celebrities failed to exert much of a positive effect at all.  Indeed, the average "lift" for commercials with famous spokespersons was negative--that means that they actually under performed in terms of advertising effectiveness!  

The people whose glamour was supposed to rub off on the brand are people we've all heard of:  Kenny Mayne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Donald Trump, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and others.  And maybe that's exactly the problem:  we know more about celebrities in today's media world than earlier generations, so the glitz of their lives has been somewhat diminished from our knowing more, not less!

Without celebrities, commercials would even cost less!

The problem with celebrity ads is compounded by the fact that they inevitably cost more--you have to pay for the endorsement of someone who wants compensation for their influence!  

My sense is that consumers today are somewhat more value driven in their purchase considerations, not life-style oriented.  Why should it matter what golf ball Tiger uses, or what department store Donald Trump recommends--consumers, instead are looking for what's best for them--not primarily driven by an adoration of what one or other "famous" person says, does, or recommends.  

These data fly in the face of conventional wisdom in the field of advertising.   If you want to check out more of the details, I recommend a glance at the Ad Age article that I ran across with the fascinating research.  
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