Beckham Tops 2002 Ads In The News Survey
David Beckham is advertising’s top celebrity figure of 2002, according to Propeller Communications’ latest Ads That Make News Survey.
The annual survey shows that David Beckham’s presence in the Pepsi campaign has made it the most written about and talked about campaign of the year, winning more national press coverage than any other.
Pop singers, Gareth Gates and Britney Spears, have also fronted campaigns for the super-brand, but it was England’s football captain and teenage pin-up, David Beckham, who gained the most column inches.
Celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, took second place for his Sainsbury’s campaign, which also recently won an IPA effectiveness award. Meanwhile, football pundit, Garry Lineker, came in third for his Walkers Crisps ads.
The controversial Pot Noodle Slag Of All Snacks campaign came tenth in the poll, despite being banned by both the ASA and the ITC (see ITC Upholds Complaint Against Pot Noodle). The campaign aptly illustrates the old cliché that there is no such thing as bad press. The same could be said for ITV Digital which came in ninth in the survey, with the campaign fronted by Johnny Vegas and the now infamous Monkey.
Martin Loat, director of Propeller Communications, commented on the results: “This has been a bumper year for celebrities in ads. The four most written about ad campaigns of the year were celebrity-based and this proves again that the costs of casting celebrities can pay off if the advertiser and its agencies wring maximum benefit by extending the campaign’s presence beyond ad space into editorial space. This way the Ads That Make News approach makes advertising part of the cultural furniture. It is the next frontier of pure media neutrality.”
However, celebrity advertising can be a double edged sword, especially if the celebs are making the news for the wrong reasons. Lloyds bank found this out the hard way after using Cold Feet star, John Thompson, to front a recent high-profile campaign amid press reports of his binge drinking and domestic troubles, which was not the brand image they wished to promote.
Propeller Communications: 0870 066 4608 07769 www.propellercom.com
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