Just say no to celebrity endorsements No Jello plus Bill Cosby

Can Jello wiggle out of this?

Let’s see, we can’t really figure out what’s unique or better about your brand or product.

The boss likes… hobnobbing with celebrities! Great, we’ll hire one, or create one, or associate our brand with one.

How’d that work out for?

  • Hertz with OJ Simpson?
  • Florida OJ with Anita Bryant?
  • A whole bunch of brands with Bill Cosby- including Jello?
  • Same for Tiger Woods.
  • Kobe Bryant. Martha Stewart. Donald Trump…

Today, Subway’s spokesperson, Jared Fogel is being tied to child porn, although there are no pending charges or proof.

Why risk building a brand on a person who is human and capable of falling from grace? Even if it’s the CEO- Wendy’s has floundered since the death of Founder Dave Thomas.

Find your brand voice and build it so that it has a life of its own. McDonald’s Ronald McDonald, who never goes away. Kentucky Fried Chicken had the Colonel, then they didn’t, then they became KFC, and then after years of floundering- back comes the Colonel, only this one’s a lot more memorable.

Even if for three years, Apple used two actors to say “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” you didn’t hear them identify themselves- or make claims based on their own credibility.

But, if you insist on going the celebrity endorsement route- make sure you buy celebrity fail insurance, because, as they’ve always said, “the bigger they are, the bigger they fall.”