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cover story celebrity ambassador

Husak. He says marketers need more

ent. "Brands are investing a lot of money

marketing, " says Husak. "It is

"

The pilot results of Cebra, which is based on aUK consumers, suggest which

suitable partnerships for brands. It also

celebrities that complement each otherfor

Choosing a celebrity depends on what messaged is looking to commun icate, or on wh at

a place for'anti-heroes'

Amy Winehouse might be more famous for

her love of a party and disregard of authority

than her creative talents but that hasn't putfashion brand Fred Perry off from signing her

up as a celebrity brand ambassador.

An anti-hero can be just as profitable as a

squeaky clean role model. Bad reputationscould help a brand reach a new audience,

according to the Cebra study. The top ten list

of negative role models include Winehouseand Russell Brand, along with the Geldof

sisters Peaches and Pixie, Jonathan Ross and,unsurprisingly, disgraced sports stars John

Terry and Tiger Woods. The lists are an

aggregate of results spanning the entireconsumer panel's 18 to 64 age groups, but can

also be broken down into lists specific to age

and gend er group s to further inform brands.Just because a celebrity is seen as a

negative role model doesn't mean they can'tbe used to a brand's advantage to market a

particular product. "In some cases a brand

isn't looking for a role model. Some of thethings these people are about can be very

attractive to a brand that wants to be seen acertain way," say s Millward Brown's Husak.

He gives the exam ple of Kate Moss, number

ten on the negative role model list, whosealleged cocaine use was splashed all over the

papers in 2005. Ch anel, Burberry an d H&M all

cancelled their deals with the model butcosm etics firm R immel kept her on. It wa s "a

statement of what they wanted to be about,"says H usak. Today, her clothing line w ithTopshop remains lucrative and she has

recently released her own brand of perfume,demonstrating her long-lasting selling power.

The Cebra study personality match has

suggested brand partnerships for somenames on the negative role model list based

on similar character traits as rated by the

consumer panel. These are mostly based onboth the celebrity and brand being seen by

the public as outgoing, spontaneous andplayful. Jonathan R oss, number nine on the

list, is well matched wit h Twitter. The talk

show host is already a prolific Tweeter andhis cheeky side could help the social network

reach out to more people, the study suggests.The number t wo naugh ty star, Katie Price,otherwise known as Jordan, is seen as a

potential am bassador for brands such as PotNoodle, C oca-Cola, Facebook and Red Bull.

Her ability to talk about any thing and

everything is apparently a good thing forthes e brands. Paris Hilton, close behind at

number three, has been judged by the studyas a good match for La Senza. Hilton's sex

tapes won't get in the way of this potential

partnership, the study suggests.Husak warns, however, that brands

considering using a negative role model

should take into account what risks that

poses. Contracts should be drawn up withspecific behaviour-related clauses so thebrand can withdraw from the deal if

Out of the wood s: When sponsors werebreakmg their ties with Tiger Woods, PaddyPower saw it as an opportunity

Fred Perry marketing director RichardMartin has been reported in the press as

saying Winehouse was a logical brand

ambassador as she had "been wearing FredPerry for years". Evidently Fred Perry has

bough t into her party girl, rebel ima ge, andthis partnership could in fact resonate with

young, social target audience bringing innew fans of the brand. Winehouse's

dishevelled image hasn't put off the fashion

label from recruiting her to co-design aclothing range for its next four seaso ns.

Cheeky Irish betting firm Paddy Power ha

also jumped at the opportunity to recruit ananti-hero. When sponsors abandoned Tiger

Woods after reports of his indiscretions, thecompany grabbed the chance to offer the

golfer a £50m sponsorship deal. Woods

promptly refused but Paddy Power has

confirmed it is to make a second, m oreattractive offer in the hope of snaring

someone the brand thinks has star quality.Paddy Power, known for its tongue-in-cheek

image and advertising campaigns, isn't fazby the sports star's negative press coverage

"In terms of a brand name. Tiger is still uthere with the Cokes and Pepsis of this

world. We knew he'd return to golf soonerrather than later. He is still one of the best

sportsmen in the world and his track record

speaks for itself," argues Paddy Powercommunications manager Ken Robertson,

adding, "I'd love to see a Paddy Power logo

on his shirt".

While some brands will choose to distancthemselves from the likes of Woods, brandslike Paddy Power see the benefit of choosin

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