Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Celebrity Brand Ambassadors Switching Brands?

Posted by AmSam on 1/20/2009 at 2:08 AM ET 500 Points
I am from Sri Lanka. One of the famous International cricket players, endorsed the mobile operator brand "Hutch" for a long time in Sri Lanka. Recently, the Indian mobile operator Bharati Airtel started their business operations in Sri Lanka. Surprisingly, the above mentioned celebrity is now the brand ambassador for Airtel in Sri Lanka, and in TV commercials he says "I switched to Airtel".

I am trying to get the opinion from some of the advertising professionals here. Is it 1) Legal; and/or 2) ethical for some celebrity to endorse two competitor brands within a short time span like one or years?
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted on 1/20/2009 at 2:39 AM Accepted
    Hello AmSam,
    According to my experience i think that:
    1) it is legal for a celebrity to shift from one brand to another as long as he does not breach a previous contract. Meaning if "Hutch" had your cricket player for a specific period and they did not renew their contract on time and "Airtel" came in and proposed him a more juicy package then it is legal.
    2) In the business world very few celebrities are concerned about their Ethical believes/image.Many celebrities shift from one brand to another in a short period of time, they even use that possibility as a threat to the sponsor company /brand, threatening them that they might shift to competition if they package are not reviewed.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 1/20/2009 at 9:02 AM Accepted
    I would speak to an attorney on this. If it was my deal, I'd have a non compete in there to avoid such things. The guy is just going to the highest bidder-- who'll be next?

    The lawyer can review issues like trade secrets, etc. If there is any fodder, and since this player is a big dog, I bet he'd take it on contingency.

    You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
  • Posted by AmSam on 1/28/2009 at 5:51 AM Author
    Thanks everyone for all the wonderful responses. I am composing an article to a local newspaper on this topic; that's why I wanted to check with the forum here. Needless to say, this has gone into some hot waters among the fan base of the celebrity. Fans are making fun of the celebrity by making "home made ads" showing the person is switching to the competitors of other brands he's endorsing.

    https://www.yahaluwo.com/forum/topics/sanga-switch-to-nestomalt (Most comments are in local languages. Sorry about that)

    Looks like the star is losing confidence among the fans, which is something that we have to consider as a possible consequence of such a brand switch. This affects the other brands (Non-competing) the celebrity is endorsing. From the celebrities point of view, this could affect the relationships with other brands as well (If the fans continue to make fun of the guy)

    In my personal opinion, there's nothing wrong in his decision to opt for a better paying advertiser. But his remarks in the ad "I SWITCHED to Airtel" creates the problem. That comment has now seems backfired both on the celebrity, and on Airtel's brand as well. Hutch responded by putting and with a tagline "We will remain silent until you know for yourself!". And Dialog (The market leader in SL for mobile communication) responded by purchasing the sponsorship of the entire Cricket team; forcing the celebrity to wear Dialog T-Shirts, and caps in international matches and official events organized by Sri Lanka Cricket Inc. :-)

    This is building up as a nice case study in celebrity brand endorsements!!!
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Advertising/PR)