Hidden Powers of Celebrity and Fame in Marketing and Advertising

 

There’s something about royalty that ignites most people’s imaginations and aspirations. Royalty plays a large part in every fairy tale and fantasy most children (and adults) ever read or see in the movies.

What most people don’t know, however, is that this image doesn’t come easy. Behind the scenes, a royal family is actually a high-end brand. Among other things, keeping up a royal image involves maintaining the delicate balance between fantasy and reality, distance and familiarity. It’s important for the royals to remain relevant, but when they become too real, or overly familiar, they lose their magic.

This is called the “pixie-dust phenomenon”, and it springs from the idea that every time celebrities interact with the public, they either gain or lose some of their magic. When they become too familiar or reachable, the pixie dust dissipates. Maintaining just the right amount of pixie dust is a fine balance that celebrity “brands” have to juggle every day – the reason many royals wear those long gloves isn’t just for elegance; it’s to create an intentional psychological distance from members of the public.

Matt Lindstrom’s research over the years has shown that consumers forge greater emotional attachments (and are hence more loyal to) brands that have rituals surrounding them – and that creating a sense of mystery around a brand or product is another highly effective branding strategy.

The best and quickest way to boost the popularity of a royal family is to host a royal wedding. A close second is the arrival of a royal baby (the more the merrier) and to hit a home run, have twins. The more the princes and princesses that pop forth, the greater likelihood of future weddings and future births and thus continued popularity.

But can a famous face have that much of an impact on how we spend our money? Well yes. By the time most young boys reach the ripe old age of 3 or 4, they’ve already started worshiping super heroes. By the time they’re 7 or 8, many have transferred their giddy adoration onto flesh-and-blood heroes – usually athletes. This is why there are so many celebrity spokespersons for products marketing to young boys.

Marketing strategies centered on celebrity appeal to fantasies about our idealized future selves. Most marketers know that a vast majority of boys dream of growing up to become strong and powerful. And, in turn, they will be drawn to heroes with special powers – supernatural, athletic or otherwise.

For young girls, their ideal future selves are graceful, feminine and stunningly beautiful – hence the princess fantasy that is so pervasive in our cultures. As girls age and move from princesses to the likes of Hannah Montana their biggest role model tends to be Barbie. Barbie was designed and marketed to represent exactly what every girl, no matter what decade she’s been born in wants to be: beautiful, glamorous, popular and adored.

But the obsession with fame and celebrity doesn’t end in childhood. The ideal “future self” for most adults, male or female, is more or less universal: rich, attentive, and famous.

Branding and celebrity borrows a lot from the royalty playbook. But unlike royal families, celebrities lack bloodlines, history, timeworn rituals, or pageantry.

Creating a celebrity is less about who they actually are and more about the brand we project to those around us.