Poster Boys

Here’s one for the boys – more male celebrities are directing their influence from the stage, screen and sports stadium toward generating and increasing awareness of labels they love. Geraldine Tan reports.

That tried-and-tested advertising formula of placing a famous face alongside a logo has worked time and again for brands, labels and fashion houses – a quick flip through any women’s magazine will turn up Elizabeth Hurley and Gwyneth Paltrow for Estee Lauder, Scarlett Johansson for Louis Vuitton, Uma Thurman for Tag Heuer and a long list of supermodels and actresses endorsing Cover Girl.

It is a simple, aspirational model – there is nothing like a celebrity to create some extra buzz among the target audience, and brands bank on the fact that people recognize their beautiful spokesmodels and want to buy into their lifestyles. In fact, 20 percent of all advertisements – twice as many as 10 years ago – in the United States now feature celebrities.

It was just a matter of time before brands started realizing the mileage they could get out of male celebrities and using them to front ad campaigns worldwide.

Today, among the glittering and growing list of male brand ambassadors are footballer David Beckham, crooner Michael Buble and movie stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Closer to home, actors Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, as well as Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro, have lent their celebrity to clothing, timepieces and skincare.

While such ad campaigns have become more visible recently, some brands have been doing it for years. Rolex’s first “testimonial”, in which its Oyster wristwatch is associated with an exceptional individual and an outstanding achievement, was in 1927.

Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, who still features in Rolex ads today, made his debut testimonial for the luxury watch brand in the 1960s. Other male ambassadors today include tennis aces Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, golfers Adam Scott and Retief Goosen, mountaineer Sir Edmund Hilary and tenor Placido Domingo.

Celebrity – or sellebrity – endorsement partnerships put brand owners and their models in a win-win situation. A well-chosen personality can trigger high brand recall and even higher sales figures; in turn, the stars can use their tenure to extend their own brands.

But it is not simply a case of an organization aligning itself with the most popular or of-the-moment personality. The image and position of the brand is at stake, and every ambassador must be chosen with care.

Rolex, for example, takes its brand ambassadors very seriously, a company spokesperson said.

“Rolex ambassadors are all dynamic achievers – young or old, they share the combination of talent, determination and perseverance that it takes to reach the apex of any specialization.”

The company also works hard to ensure that these personalities are not mere billboards. “Rolex enjoys a close relationship with each of them – which continues well after they have ceased to be featured in our advertising – and an association with the prestigious events they partake in.”

Montblanc, maker of fine writing instruments and other accessories, signed Nicholas Cage to be its worldwide Arts and Cultural brand ambassador in November last year. The Hollywood heavyweight is the brand’s third international brand ambassador, following Johnny Depp and Julianne Moore.

“Montblanc does not use celebrities to endorse or represent the brand in a direct manner,” explains managing director of Montblanc SEA Catherine Ang. “They are invited as ‘Friends of Montblanc’ for worthy charity campaigns and arts and cultural projects which Montblanc keenly supports.”

Cage fronts Montblanc’s “Helping Others Gives Success True Meaning” campaign, and will be featured in a series of advertising motifs across international lifestyle, society and fashion publications this year, modeling two of Montblanc’s chronograph watches.

“Montblanc is a high-profile luxury brand with a rich history of over a century. Our international celebrities help spread our campaign purpose and message across international borders and cultures,” says Ang.

The key is to identify successful, high-achieving individuals who personify a brand’s DNA and values. This is how actor Jude Law came to be associated with English luxury goods brand Alfred Dunhill in the Asia Pacific region and Japan, from the Spring/Summer 2006 season onward.

“We have been collaborating with Jude Law for a few years, as he is a big fan of the brand and a regular customer,” explains Tina Jensen, regional head of marketing for the Alfred Dunhill Division at Richemont Luxury Asia Pacific Limited.

“Alfred Dunhill is the definitive English luxury goods brand, known for its innovation, adventure, understated style and masculinity. Jude Law is the quintessential British male with an international reach, and he embodies the brand well. He has all it takes in terms of communicating and understanding what the brand is all about.”

So regardless of gender, a brand ambassador is not just about having something beautiful to look at in advertisements. Apart from embodying the same values as the brand, the chosen ones must be unique and outstanding in their own right. Their alluring beauty and stratospheric fame are, perhaps, just a coincidental plus.

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