I was watching a Boniva ad featuring Sally Field when I realized, "If I were a woman with osteoporosis, I think I'D be taking Boniva because Sally seems so sincere."
I also recall, many years ago, Andy Griffith's popular ads for Ritz crackers, which didn't get me to try the product, but did get me to go around saying, "Mm-MMM. G-o-o-d cracker."
William Talman, who played DA Hamilton Burger to Raymond Burr's Perry Mason, appeared in a number of anti-smoking ads, such as this one; as an avid watcher of Perry Mason, this definitely enhanced my anti-smoking position, especially with my father, who smoked a pack or more of Winstons at the time.
The Jerry Seinfeld AmEx ads, such as this one were clever enough, but had no effect on getting the card in my wallet.
My questions for you fine folks:
1. Any celebrity endorsements actually lead you to purchase an item or at least supported your position to do so? Any celebrity endorsements turn you off from a product?
And, unrelated to the topic:
2. Will Sarah Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live help her, hurt her or make no difference? I say it helps slightly. She comes off as engaging when reading cue cards.
3. What is your favorite Four Tops song? The great Levi Stubbs, the lead singer, died yesterday. For some reason, 7 Rooms of Gloom came immediately to mind, but appropriately, I suppose it's I'm in a Different World..
***
Just say no!
. ROG
6 comments:
1. Not sure. I tend to look at the entertainment value of commercials (the Nike "Bo Knows" and Chrysler mini-vans with the two kids and the snowball fight come to mind). However, I do appreciate a spokesperson that does sound sincere (like Sally Fields). Can't think of any others off the top of my head.
2. I agree with you that it will help slightly. In some respects it is a good move for her career regardless if her and her running mate win or not. I am sure that is part of the motivation.
3. Pretty bad. I grew up in Motown, but never got into the music. (My parents being fans of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and the Doobie Brothers, to name a few, didn't help.)
1) Personally, I think that seeing Mickey Spillane in those Lite beer commercials (as a kid) led me to at least try it (as an adult)...and was not impressed. I actually began drinking Sam Adams through Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels (but I don't thinkt hat counts)
2) I think it's going to hurt her career - she seems like someone who thinks she's in "on the joke"...but really isn't.
3) First, I just want to say - the fact that Levi Stubbs was never spoken in the same breath as Otis Redding, James Brown, or Wilson Pickett is absolutely criminal.
But if I had to pick - other than "Reach Out I'll Be There", I'd have to go for "Bernadette", where his singing is partially longing, partially despairing, and...well, it's nuanced.
(Some of their later hits, like "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got)" and "When She Was My Girl" come in close to their classic Motown stuff).
Now, I feel the urge to podcast....
Roger
my favorite Levi Stubbs vocal was" Bernadette", a kick-ass song, and no celeb would make me buy a product.
tom
Gordon and tom - Certainly, Bernadette came to mind. I discounted Reach Out as an "of course" choice.
1. As far as I can remember, I have never been enticed to buy a product because of a celebrity endorsement, but kind of like Scott said, there appearance in a commercial can add to their entertainment value.
2. I think it might have helped her a little bit. It doesn't add political credibility, but it does somehow help that she was able to face/join her lampooners. I guess it's that people don't like it when people take themselves too seriously.
3. Although I am familiar with the Four Tops, I haven't really followed them so as to be familiar with all of their songs. That said, I like "Baby I Need Your Loving," which probably reveals that at best I have a cursory knowledge of their music.
Rats! "There" meaning place. "Their" meaning plural possessive pronoun. One day I will get this right.
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