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Personality merchandising can be a lucrative addition to any brand strategy. But it doesn’t always pay off as it should. Richard Brass lifts the lid on the fragile world of celebrity endorsement.

Josiah Wedgwood has a lot to answer for. He may be best known for the quality of his vases and bowls, but the 18th-century potter from the English Midlands left behind an even bigger legacy – one which confronts us every time we visit the supermarket or look up at a billboard in the street.

When it turned out that Queen Charlotte was fond of Wedgwood’s cups and saucers, the wily businessman pulled a few strings and had himself named ‘Potter to Her Majesty’. He then relabelled his product as ‘Queen’s Ware’, shoved his royal patronage in the face of anyone who crossed his path, and single-handedly invented the business of celebrity endorsement.

Today any celebrity worth his or her column-inches has an agent constantly on the lookout for endorsement deals that will suit their profile and boost their bank balance. The Holy Grail, for both companies and endorsers, is to create the new Air Jordan – the Nike campaign that identified Michael Jordan with a shoe. Paul Newman pulled off something similar with his organic food products, Loyd Grossman is trying it with his pasta sauces, and now Jennifer Lopez is hawking her own perfume range, holding the promise of a little bottle of J-Lo in your very own bedroom.

For the names that are riding high, endorsements can be worth several fortunes. Take David Beckham – his penalty-shooting may be highly suspect, but the England football captain has become one of the world’s most saleable brands, clinching deals with Vodafone, Adidas, Pepsi, Marks and Spencer and Gillette that will keep him in sarongs long after the patience of weary England fans has run out.

Today any celebrity worth his or her column-inches has an agent constantly on the lookout for endorsement deals that will suit their profile and boost their bank balance.

But for every David Beckham there’s an OJ Simpson, and for every a Michael Jordan, a Michael Jackson. It’s fair to say that Simpson’s deal with Hertz or Jackson’s with Pepsi are unlikely to be renewed, and that neither of them will be fighting off the offers any time soon.

Similarly, drinks company 7Up were delighted to land Irish football captain Roy Keane as the face of their Ireland campaign during the 2002 World Cup. But that was before he stormed out of training camp before a ball had been kicked, leaving the company facing not only the wasted costs of his fee and the campaign, but also the sight of their posters being defaced and ripped down all over the country.

Sometimes celebrity endorsers appear less than committed to the cause too. Helena Bonham-Carter didn’t really help her paymasters at Yardley when she revealed that she didn’t wear makeup. Geri Halliwell was doing a great job as UN ambassador on reproductive health until she admitted to a TV camera that she didn’t know the difference between pro-life and pro-choice. And anti-fur campaigners Peta were perhaps justified in reconsidering their choice of Naomi Campbell as a representative when she appeared at a Milan fashion show wearing, er, fur!

Established notoriety can sometimes be a safer bet. Pony shoes knew for sure they wouldn’t face any new surprises when they hired adult film actress Jenna Jameson to push their products. However, the Jenny Craig weight loss company’s inspired choice of Monica Lewinsky for their ‘lose 50 pounds program’ would have seemed more inspired if she’d actually managed to do it. So the message for merchandisers? Keep those endorsements coming if you think they’re getting you mileage. But be ready for nasty surprises. However attractive they might appear at the moment, celebrities’ reputations are every bit as fragile as one of Josiah Wedgwood’s royally endorsed pots.

This article first appeared in IP Review, issue 11

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