For Dopey Marketers Who Missed the Memo: Girls Today Aren't Fooled by Celeb Endorsements into Thinking Your Product is Cool if it Isn't. Jessica Simpson Prancing for Pizza Hut? A Case Study in the Pitfalls of Celebrity-ism. FASHIONTRIBES POP CULTURE BLOG

Marketers who assume girls want to wear/spritz/eat or consume whatever the celeb du jour is shilling are sorely mistaken, explains an interesting piece in BusinessWeek.com penned by 3iYing, an all-girl market & design strategy firm that specializes in marketing to girls ages 15 to 25.

"You believe that Lindsay Lohan or Beyonce can make your product more attractive, and that girls will want you if you use them in your ads. But you're wrong. Don't be fooled by the hype and glam. A celebrity can't make you cool or valuable. The only way to be cool... is to not try," they warn. Even worse is the fact that building your own brand by attaching it to the coat-tails of a celebrity and their own individual brand identity - "celebrity'ism" - could cause your downfall.  "And it isn't just that celebrity'ism doesn't enhance your reputation - it can irreparably damage it."

The main reasons celebrity'ism can harm the success of a product:

• Girls today are a savvy bunch, and know that celebs are actually paid to promote various products. Even if they're fans of a certain celeb, they won't necessarily buy whatever is being promoted. On the flip side, if they hate a certain celeb, by association they'll hate whatever they're promoting, and "the minute your celebrity gets in trouble, your reputation gets dragged along by association. If they go down, you go down."
• Wearing the J.Lo label or the Britney perfume actually makes girls targets for ridicule from their social set. "Celebrity-obsessed girls aren't respected, especially when they parrot the look and actions of a celebrity. Girls who own celebrity-based products actually themselves at risk of being made fun of - especially as they move beyond high school...Who wants to be the joke of the day?"
• With their myriad money & privilege, who can relate to a celeb? Most celebs live rich, exclusive lives, while normal girls don't - so they can't relate on a personal level. Besides, how many celebrities would actually buy the products they're campaigning for? Beyonce puts L'Oreal Feria on her tresses? Please. Christina Aguilera wears Skechers? Right. And what exactly makes Queen Latifah a believable use of drugstore brand Cover Girl?
• Hiring a celeb to shill for you tells the group you're marketing to that you don't believe in your own product. "Using celebs tells us your product can't stand on its own feet. Flaunting a celebrity screams 'I'm insecure' as clearly as a middle-aged man seeking to find himself a trophy wife. It shows us you don't believe in your brand."

The bottom line? Celebrity'ism is not only a costly marketing strategy, but it completely fails at reaching today's girl market. Remember: modern girls are trying to find their own, unique path - and not simply parrot whatever the rich & fabulous are up to. As boring as it may sound, the key to success for a marketer lies in creating an original, high quality product. "You'll succeed by doing what your mother always told you to: just be yourself." via YPulse.com

- Lesley Scott

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