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Sell It Like Beckham

Soccer superstar David Beckham is known around the globe whether you preferto call him Mr. Posh Spice, Becks, or plain old Beckham. Beckham is a globalcelebrity who has used his face and public image to promote a multitude of corporations

worldwide. Aside from doing promotional work with soccer teams he has played for likeManchester United, Real Madrid and the L.A. Galaxy Beckham has endorsed productsfor clothing companies like H&M and food corporations like Pepsi.

Beckhams celebrity persona does demonstrate commercially manufacturedintertextuality as well as a consistent and appealing image. His public identity has beenbuilt up by non-tool endorsements with Burger King as well as tools-of-the-tradeendorsements from Adidas, an autobiography titled David Beckham: My Side, talk-showguest slots, and numerous magazines of which he has graced the covers (Andrews,2012a). Through these endorsements and publicity efforts, Beckham has added ethos tohis persona because they are simply backing up his personal brand while he is promotingtheir product. Although he would still be famous for playing soccer in Europe and the

United States, without the media, Beckham would not have these opportunities to brandhimself as an athlete and a person in general.In the article Global Adidas: Sport, celebrity, and the marketing of difference

by Andrew Grainger, Joshua I. Newman and David L. Andrews, Beckham is one of threeathletes written about for his ability to market products and himself so well. The authorscredit Beckhams commercial success not because of the fame of his clubs or the

marketing power of his boot endorserbut rather his unique ability to reveal different

facets to different types of fans (Deford, 2003) (Grainger, Newman & Andrews, 2005).By appealing to multiple fan bases, Beckham prospers in representing products that haveto do with things other than soccer or athletics. Teenage boys who idolize him because ofhis soccer career are bound to buy the cleats he helped design with Adidas while a man inhis twenties may pick up underwear from H&M to dress like the international superstar.

Although the article coins him a transnational celebrity, Beckham does have a

localized appeal. According to Grainger, Newman and Andrews, Beckham is theworking-class-boy-made-good excelling in a traditionally working-class game, anational hero playing the nations game, Englands captain, the embodiment of Tony

Blairs Cool Britannia (Grainger, Newman & Andrews, 2005). The people of Englandfeel a bond with the icon because he represents something that they are a part of. Theyare England and he is Englandtogether, they are connected through national pride andheritage. Adding to his heroic image, an article titled End It Like Beckham by Phil Ballof the New York Times stated, Beckham was Mr. HumbleHe was the last greatEnglish hero, the last remaining gentleman in an increasingly fractured and confusedsociety. Absurd though it sounds, people really did believe in him (Ball, 2004). As ahumble family man, Beckham embodies the type of man that many desire to become andgives the English people the hope, the faith and the motivation that they can.

Beckham most publicly motivated female soccer player Jess Bhamra in a 2002movie to which he lent his name:Bend It Like Beckham.The movies story is centered onan eighteen year-old English teenager who rebels against her Sikh family and theircultural beliefs to achieve her dreams of playing soccer like her idol: David Beckham.Although Jess and Beckhams upbringings were completely different, she is still able to

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connect with through their love of the game. Jess often stares at her bedroom walls thatare covered in posters of him along with his team, Manchester United, when she is upsetor needs motivation. Aside from the posters, Beckham was only featured in the movie fora few seconds in one of the final scenes and was not a major part of the plot, but his namein the title was sure to draw audiences in from all over the world. This proved true when

the movie was released in the United States in August 2003 and grossed $32.4 million atthe box offices (Rotten Tomatoes). Worldwide, the film made $76,583,333 (Wikipedia).Despite having such a strong connection with English fans, Beckham clearly

attracts consumers and fans from countries far from his native country. Grainger,Newman and Andrews argue that Beckham is a floating signifier: his identity plays todiffering narratives specific to national context, he is an exemplar of a free-floatingcelebrity commodity-sign (Giardina, 2001, p. 205) (Grainger, Newman & Andrews,2005). As a floater, Beckham can seamlessly transition from national hero to

international hero. People all around the world with differing narratives can relate tohim because he is such a multi-faceted celebrity. It is also said that he has become thevery measure of the new Europe (Grainger, Newman & Grainger, 2005). A seven year-

old boy from Greece may relate to him because he loves soccer and wants to learn superbball-handling skills while an Irish fan idolizes him because they both come fromworking-class families and Beckhams work ethic serves as motivation for the Irishman.This quality almost makes Beckham untouchable. Almost.

Similar to many other celebrities, Beckham has had public image breakdowns. InSeptember 2010, Huffington Post reported thatIn Touch magazine published an articleabout Beckham allegedly cheating on his wife Victoria with prostitute Irma Nici in 2007(Irma Nici, David Beckham's Mistress? Prostitute Tells All, 2010). In this case,InTouch was looking to undermine [Beckhams] image for their own economic gain

(Andrews, 2012b). They knew putting his face on the cover on their magazine would sella mass amount of copiesit was their own marketing technique. Beckhamsrepresentative denied the scandal immediately to halt the rumor-filled story fromspreading. Over the years, it has been said that there is no such thing as bad publicity, butthis kind of attention from the media can interfere with a mans consistent public image.By the magazine publicizing this affair, Beckham could potentially lose his admiring fansbecause he appears dishonest and unfaithful. If consumers lose trust in a productendorser, there is a chance they will lose trust in the product. This presents a lose-losesituation for both parties involved in the endorsement deal.

Comparable to the scandal in 2010, seven years earlier, Beckham was accused ofhaving an extramarital affair with his personal assistant, Rebecca Loos, while he was inMadrid and Mrs. Beckham was in the United States. The headlines and bad presseventually took a toll on Beckham, as Ball wrote in his article, A fortnight after thetabloid revelations, Beckham played poorly in a gameThe next day, he was dubbedForrest Gump by a Spanish sports paper: the implication was that he ran and ran, butwith no purpose, like a headless chicken. The accusation stuck, he lost even moreconfidence, and Madrid's season went from poor to nightmare (Ball, 2004). This isanother example of how the media can be a negative influence one ones well-respectedpublic image along with tearing down ones self-esteem and confidence. At the time ofthe article, Ball claimed, Beckham is not dead yet. He has always been well managed,and can easily be reinvented (Ball, 2004). Since this happened almost a decade ago, it is

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clear that Beckham was able to be reinvented as he has an extremely large global fan

base and the confidence to endorse products like his own clothing and underwear linesfor Adidas and H&M.

In conclusion, David Beckham is a household name and one of the worlds mostwell known sports celebrities. Media positively publicized Beckhams national hero

persona whereas two major infidelity scandals publicized by the media discredited hisethos and reputation. Despite a few bumps in the road, Beckham has successfullypromoted products from around the world as well as his own public identity and image.His soccer career may be ending shortly due to his age, but the world will be seeingplenty of good ole Becks in the future, especially at the 2012 Olympics in London.