The Celebrity Factor--A Star is Born in Your Advertising

As Americans, we are obsessed with celebrities. We know who the
stars are dating, what their favorite foods are, and, thanks to
MTV Cribs, we even know the intimate details of their home
decorating styles.

With our paparazzi-like fixations on the famous, it is no wonder
ad campaigns involving celebrities are more successful than any
other type of advertising. Michael Jordan says "Wear Hanes" and
we do. Sarah Michelle Gellar says "Use Maybelline cosmetics" and
we buy the lot. Even Carrot Top, considered by many to be the
most repulsive and annoying person ever to grace the screen, gets
us to call AT&T.

So how do these fun facts help you in your advertising? Let me
explain.

Unless you own Coca Cola, Pepsi, Verizon, or Kentucky Fried
Chicken, you probably can't afford to lay down a cool million for
celebrity advertising. Luckily, you don't have to.

One way to get a celebrity in your ads is to use local
celebrities. This is a far cheaper, but still effective strategy
to get your prospects' attention.

Try a popular DJ, news reporter, politician, social figure or
merchant. Some of these people will jump at the chance to be in
your ad. An offer of $50 or $100 dollars will usually do the
trick

I am especially fond of using local DJs. We spend up to an hour
or more in our cars each day listening to these characters, so we
get a mental image of them locked in our heads. In most cases,
the DJ looks nothing like what you imagined. When you see them on
a commercial, you can't look away, thinking, "I can't believe
that's what he/she looks like!" It's a great way to hold your
viewers' attention.

But if you don't want to pay for a local celebrity, there is an
alternative that often works just as well. Become a celebrity
yourself!

This is not as difficult as it sounds. If people see your face on
television, billboards, and newspaper ads with consistency, even
though you are advertising your own product or business, they
will begin to consider you a celebrity.

When people see you on the street or come into your store, they
will recognize you immediately. What is that, if not fame?

I recently went to movie and found myself sitting next to a local
merchant who stared in his own commercials. I felt as giddy as
teenage girl at am N'Sync concert through the entire movie. All
he did was pay someone to shoot a commercial with him in it, for
crying out loud, but I was still bragging about it to all my
friends the next day.

Staring in one's own radio, TV, and newspaper ads has worked for
thousands of people just like you. It doesn't matter if you are
cross eyed, toothless, or speak with as much energy as an aging
hound dog. If Carrot Top can be famous, you can too. And the more
famous you are, the more successful your advertising will be.