Which Celebrity Can Make You Spend?

Advertisements are one of those things that most of the time are ignored or considered annoying.

But when ads are good, they tend to be very good. Consider the Old Spice commercials - we all know about that guy.

With the countdown to the Superbowl happening this week tv ads are getting the spotlight, as viewers not only watch the game but look for the unique ads displayed in between the plays.

So when it comes to the A listers, the question becomes is their well-known brand name enough to convince us to open our wallet and slap down the cash for their latest hot product?

Ace Metrix is a marketing company using the online world to analyze the world of television and they've uncovered the truth about celeb pitching power.

Ace Metrix found that although companies rely heavily on celebrity endorsement, out of the 2600 television ads studied and dissected, celebrity ads did not have an impact on whether consumers will make a purchase.

Very few celebrity ads will even have a measurable effect compared to industry standards. On average companies are spending approximately US$50 billion worldwide on corporate sponsorships and endorsements deals, yet celebrities only appear in 15 per cent of television commercials.

For example, in the electronics category, Sony recruited football star Peyton Manning while Vizio chosen singer Beyonce Knowles - yet Samsung's True to Life campaign got better scores, without a celebrity involved. As Ace Mextrix has found, the creativity of the commercial is what counts with viewers, not necessarily the pitchman.

With the right context, celebrity can be effective, such as the use of popular actress Betty White and singer Aretha Franklin for Snickers. But, the demographic can also not agree with the choice of a celebrity, for example, Sarah Jessica Parker pitching cosmetics, who some believe is beautiful, but there are also many women who do not. As well there is the celebrity who becomes a pariah - golfer Tiger Woods, who has been dropped by Gillette, Accenture, AT&T and Gatorade after his personal life's indiscretions became media fodder in the past two years.

So is there a celebrity that can make a difference? In fact, football star Peyton Manning does score very high with viewers, but the one celeb who tops the list - businesswoman/tv host/producer Oprah Winfrey. Her ads for Liberty Mutual and Progressive Insurance, focused on her campaign against texting and driving were the top of the television ad list for 2010.