fragrance an unequalled icon. Celebrity endorsement does not however begin
and end with shooting and printing the photo of a beautiful star with a luxury
product, in a fashion magazine. There are several factors and dimensions
involved in choosing a celebrity to endorse a brand. It is however worthwhile
to establish the scope and true value of celebrity endorsement.
First of all, who are celebrities? Celebrities are people that exert signifi-
cant influence in several facets of the society ranging from arts, music,
movies and television, sports, culture, education, politics, government and
also religion. They range from film and television stars to musicians, sports
personalities, scientists, engineers, royals, politicians and also socialites who
have no defined careers apart from looking beautiful and attending the right
events. In the fashion world, this list of celebrities would include designers,
their muses, models, photographers, image consultants, style advisers and
any famous person involved in the artistic aspects of fashion such as make-
up artists, fashion consultants and also fashion experts like Mark Tungate
whose book Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara, was
published in 2005. The celebrities most utilized in the promotion of luxury
fashion brands, however, are those in the film and music industry as a result
of their high visibility and the prominent role that fashion plays in the enter-
tainment sectors.
According to recent research statistics from advertising and marketing
services company WPP, the number of celebrity advertisements has doubled
in the past ten years. The Guardianalso reports that one in four adverts
currently features celebrities compared with one in eight in 1995. Although
this statistic is related to a broad range of goods and services, there has also
been an increase in the use of celebrities in the brand message communica-
tions of luxury brands. Several recent examples show evidence of this prac-
tice. Italian luxury brand Versace featured music icon Madonna and
Hollywood stars Demi Moore and Halle Berry in its print adverts between
2005 and 2006. Likewise Julia Roberts appeared in the 2006/2007 print
advertisements of Gianfranco Ferre; Sharon Stone and Monica Bellucci in
Dior’s and Jennifer Lopez, Scarlet Johansson and Uma Thurman (Figure
5.22) have all been the faces of Vuitton at different times. Also luxury watch
brand Baume & Mercier adopted celebrity endorsement in 2005 in its adver-
tising campaign featuring actors Meg Ryan and Keifer Sutherland. Non-
luxury brands such as Gap and H&M are also catching on. Gap featured
television and movie star Sarah Jessica Parker in their 2005 advertisement
and H&M featured Madonna and her crew in their 2006 print advertisement.
The use of celebrities from an earlier period is also not left out in luxury
brands endorsements. For example, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
birth of silver-screen actress Greta Garbo, Mont Blanc designed a special
edition pen named after the deceased actress.
The reasons that these personalities are used in brand communications are:
to make the brand’s message stand out among the clutter of advertising and
chapter 5 157the art of creating and managing luxury fashion brands