The Old Testament warns against worshiping false idols. In fact, that is the first two or three commandments (depending on your faith.)
Do not have any other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
And yet we regularly worship demigods in the form of celebrities. We idolize them. We aspire to be like them. Or, as Nike says, “Be like Mike.”
Fame has what is known as a property interest or right of publicity. Celebrities have rights in their images because their images have value. You and I don’t have that same property interest in our image. I’m so typical I could probably fly as cargo.
Instead, we have a right of privacy that celebrities don’t enjoy. If someone followed us around taking our picture we could sue for invading our privacy. Paparazzi make a living taking celebrity pictures because the same image that makes them valuable also makes them newsworthy and therefore fair game. Celebrities that work so hard to get their image and then complain about paparazzi are like women who try so hard to have a baby and then complain because they have no time for themselves.
Since true celebrities are hard to come by, one has to pay handsomely for their endorsements. Is it worthwhile to link a product or service to a celebrity? The first question is whether it is believable that the celebrity really uses that product or service. The endorsement has to be a good match for the product. Michael Jordan was certainly believable for athletic shoes. Somehow I don’t think that a Michael Jackson day care center or a Dennis Rodman “Just Say No” campaign would have the same appeal.
And what about celebrities that engage in, or are accused of, bad behavior after the endorsement is made? Kobe Bryant got pulled from his McDonald’s ads after he was accused of rape and Pepsi dumped Madonna after her “Like a Prayer” video aired.
And that’s really the problem. Celebrities are a different. They usually live in a different reality with opportunities that normal folk can’t even comprehend. Since no morals clause can truly enforce good behavior, businesses that use celebrity endorsements risk losing not only the money that they pay to the celebrity but the damage done to the product image if the connection to the product is strong and then the celebrity becomes reviled due to their own idiocy.
So maybe the trick is to use fictitious celebrities. Celluloid characters that can’t do wrong but are still popular. How about Superman or Sponge Bob Square Pants? You can’t really go wrong. I can see it now. Sponge Bob malt liquor. An instant hit.
Do not have any other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
And yet we regularly worship demigods in the form of celebrities. We idolize them. We aspire to be like them. Or, as Nike says, “Be like Mike.”
Fame has what is known as a property interest or right of publicity. Celebrities have rights in their images because their images have value. You and I don’t have that same property interest in our image. I’m so typical I could probably fly as cargo.
Instead, we have a right of privacy that celebrities don’t enjoy. If someone followed us around taking our picture we could sue for invading our privacy. Paparazzi make a living taking celebrity pictures because the same image that makes them valuable also makes them newsworthy and therefore fair game. Celebrities that work so hard to get their image and then complain about paparazzi are like women who try so hard to have a baby and then complain because they have no time for themselves.
Since true celebrities are hard to come by, one has to pay handsomely for their endorsements. Is it worthwhile to link a product or service to a celebrity? The first question is whether it is believable that the celebrity really uses that product or service. The endorsement has to be a good match for the product. Michael Jordan was certainly believable for athletic shoes. Somehow I don’t think that a Michael Jackson day care center or a Dennis Rodman “Just Say No” campaign would have the same appeal.
And what about celebrities that engage in, or are accused of, bad behavior after the endorsement is made? Kobe Bryant got pulled from his McDonald’s ads after he was accused of rape and Pepsi dumped Madonna after her “Like a Prayer” video aired.
And that’s really the problem. Celebrities are a different. They usually live in a different reality with opportunities that normal folk can’t even comprehend. Since no morals clause can truly enforce good behavior, businesses that use celebrity endorsements risk losing not only the money that they pay to the celebrity but the damage done to the product image if the connection to the product is strong and then the celebrity becomes reviled due to their own idiocy.
So maybe the trick is to use fictitious celebrities. Celluloid characters that can’t do wrong but are still popular. How about Superman or Sponge Bob Square Pants? You can’t really go wrong. I can see it now. Sponge Bob malt liquor. An instant hit.
