Celebrity Endorsements: Hey, Lance, Maybe It Is About The Bike, After All

NPD Group of Port Washington, New York asked the question every advertiser wants the answer to:

"Who do you trust?"

Turns out, among celebrity endorsers, super-cycler Lance Armstrong is the most trusted man in America.

(Gawd, I'm showing my age as I confess I remember when it was Walter Cronkite.)

The survey of 11,000 people over the age of 13, found that the following people have the highest influence on actually getting people to buy stuff in the product categories they represent:

• Home improvement guru Ty Pennington
• Olympic medalist Summer Sanders
• Actor James Earl Jones
• Chef Emeril Lagasse
• Rock star Carlos Santana

Now, here's the kicker, that kicks a hole in the long-suffering argument that "getting your name before the public" is going to make people want to buy anything:

• Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant
• "Mr. Wealth" himself, Donald Trump
• Pop star Britney Spears
• Sex kitten Paris Hilton
• The one and only Anna Nicole Smith

These folks all had superior "awareness" scores, but consumers said they would actually be less likely to buy something if any of these celebrities were endorsing it.

Hmmm.  Makes you wonder.  Fame isn't enough?  People actually have to think you might be someone they would like to share a cup of coffee with?

Thanks to World Copywriting Blog Executive Contributor Jim Van Wyck for alerting me to the news about this survey.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter