No Point of Difference? Buy One!
We all know the impact, good AND bad, of using celebrity endorsements to build up a brand. But now it’s being taken to a new level.
Popchips just signed Ashton Kutcher as its President of Pop Culture. Instead of writing their own social media posts, Kutcher will feed their tweets and promote the brand on his own terms. He also bought into the brand, literally, buying what the Wall Street Journal says is a minority stake in the company.
And there are others. Lady Gaga is the chief creative officer of Polariod; Sean Combs is the brand manager for Ciroc vodka. Both have ownership stakes in the companies, and are expected to participate in product development in addition to lending their aura to the products.
This trend makes the stars’ affiliation much more credible, and essentially makes them put their money with their mouths are. It also separates the brands from the pack. When Rhianna broke out with her “Umbrella” song two years ago, she endorsed Secret, Cover Girl, Totes, J.C. Penney, Nokia, Nike and the Tourism Board of Barbados. All of them were appropriate and impactful, but also shared the thunder with the many brands attached to her.
The more aggressive approach is to align with a like-minded, high-profile star that represents what the brand believes in, and create a partnership that truly separates the product from the pack. Jay-Z did it for General Motors a couple of years ago, creating an exclusive blue/platinum color for the car he endorsed. 
Ellen DeGeneres is doing it for Halo Purely for Pets, leveraging her 14% stake in the company to help develop new dog food flavors, among other things.
The perfume guys have been at it for years, with Britney, JLo, Nicole Kidman and Patrick Dempsey recently creating and pitching perfumes. Giving them points on the backend is a smart thing to do. My favorite is Tag Records, an independent hip-hop label that brands breaking music under P&G’s TAG bodyspray marks.
It’s an aggressive deal with Island Def Jam, and it adds credibility to TAG’s place in the culture.
