Reference no: EM132293911

The use of elite athletes in advertising

The number of products and services that have athletes and celebrities advertising their wares is extensive. Belch and Belch (2007) suggested that perhaps more than 20 per cent of all television commercials feature celebrities, and there is no doubt that sport stars would comprise a large component of this figure. While Michael Jordan may have been the advertisers’ dream in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the first decade of the new millennium has given rise to a new breed of athlete advertising both sport and non-sport-related products. In 2007, Gillette launched the world’s first global advertisement featuring three of the most successful male athletes in the world. Golfing legend Tiger Woods, the world’s number one tennis player Roger Federer and soccer great Thierry Henry are, in their own right, an advertising agent’s dream. Handsome, at the pinnacle of their respective sports and of sound character, the three sport stars collectively advertised the product in a slick modern commercial. The sport apparel that each would normally wear was eschewed in favour of a black suit, and the serious minimalist approach of the commercial is lightened by a deft touch of humour as Federer touches Woods’ freshly shaven face. This resulted in an interesting facial response from the latter! This is an advertisement that is clever, stylish and links athlete and product, giving rise to source credibility. Within the first year, it was scheduled to air in over 100 countries worldwide. However, not all advertisements featuring athletes are funny, stylish or even that credible. This is despite the success of the athlete, their telegenic appeal or even the compatibility of the product with their sport. During 2007, advertisements appeared on New Zealand television for Fisher and Paykel featuring the then World Netball Champions the Silver Ferns; for the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau featuring world champion cyclist Sarah Ulmer and Olympic double-sculls gold medallists Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell; for Fujitsu with former Black Cap Captain Stephen Fleming; and for the New Zealand Ministry of Education featuring former All-Black captain Tana Umaga. In 2004, New Zealand world champion cyclist Sarah Ulmer broke world records and won Olympic gold in the Athens Olympic Games while the Evers-Swindell twins also won gold at Athens. Twelve months later, the trio became the faces of the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau’s ‘Red Meat Feel Good’ advertising campaign. The three were referred to as the ‘iron maidens’, a none-too-subtle attempt to link the three to the message that meat consumption would minimise iron deficiencies common to many women. Despite being criticised—and rightly so—by entertainment blogger Chris Schulz for ‘stilted dialogue, bad acting and terrible dancing’, advertisements featuring the three elite athletes regularly appear on New Zealand television. Moreover, the 2005 company three-year goal of encouraging New Zealanders to eat meat three times per week was almost reached with a year to spare. Fisher and Paykel appliances have been involved with the Silver Ferns for more than a decade. The Silver Ferns as a brand is probably only second to the All-Blacks in New Zealand sport, and the use of the netball team by the whitegoods manufacturer around the concepts of innovation and success is quite appropriate. Moreover, Fisher and Paykel’s engagement with the sport is at the grassroots as well as at the elite level. Despite the less than wellregarded television advertisements featuring the Silver Ferns using the manufacturer’s products, the connection between the company and the sport appears to be strong. Cricket is one sport that has always been a fertile environment for the provision of athletes for advertising purposes. Former Australian bowling great Dennis Lillee regularly appeared in television advertisements long after his cricket career was over, and current stars such as Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist are following on in the tradition. Yet for every successful ad featuring a member of cricket’s elite, there is another that appears doomed from the start. Fujitsu must have questioned its decision-making when former Test captains in both Australia and New Zealand appeared in advertisements promoting the virtues of the company’s products, namely reverse-cycle air conditioners. Neither Australia’s Mark Taylor nor New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming was able to show the same level of skill in the lounge room as he was on the pitch. Miraculously, the commercials survived. Finally, in 2007 former All-Black captain Tana Umaga was chosen by the New Zealand Ministry of Education as its Education Ambassador. Umaga become the front man and advertising face of Team Up, a ministry program designed to get parents more involved in the education and learning of their children. According to the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the use of Umaga in the advertising campaign has had the desired effect. Of those surveyed in relation to Team Up, 69 per cent recalled seeing the ads, with 83 per cent of them remembering a key message. It may be as a result of the product, the athlete or the sport in which he became a household name for a team with a global brand, but so far Umaga has been immune from the sorts of criticisms that have been levelled at other New Zealand athletes in their advertising roles. Interestingly, Shulz (2007) contends that the worst ads on New Zealand television are those that feature Kiwi athletes, and he is not alone in his view. However, this has not resulted in a diminution of the use of athletes for advertising. Internationally, the push to use athletes in advertising has grown over the last decades, and the success of the association may have more to do with the creativity around the ad and the production techniques used rather than the association between the athlete and product.

Questions

1. From the above case study, what explains the apparent success or otherwise of the use of athletes in the advertising campaigns?

2. What strategies would you use to change one or more of the above-mentioned advertisements to broaden appeal and acceptability?

3. What advice would you give sponsors choosing to use athletes in their advertising programs?