Celebrity Endorsements

This must be why I sing, "Turn out the lights, the party's over" as I taxi in after landing ...

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RJM62 said:
I've done things along those lines. I consider boycotts to be nothing but economic terrorism, so when I hear that some company is being boycotted, it make me more likely to buy from them. I don't even care what the reason for the boycott was. I just don't like boycotts.

If a company caves to a boycott, on the other hand, I most likely will never buy from them again.

Rich
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Me too. Good point, Sir.
 
overdrive148 said:
Who gives a toss about what a fast food company deems acceptable circumstances for marriage?
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Apparently the CEO of the fast food place does. He goes out of his way to poke the secular or gay bear, on more than one occasion. No one asked his opinion, he just tossed the thigh on the gravy himself - so to speak. then, rather than stick to his guns, his public affairs guy walked it back and said they will have no more comment.

Interesting enough, after his little public snog to the LGBT, I decided I liked the fact he stood up, and I went there a couple times. I found the chicken bland and a bit rubbery, my drink was 99% ice and the fried potatoes were pretty soggy. No offense to his religion but I found his food almost inedible.
 
Now I'm working up a powerful thirst:

(I was going to link to an old Jim Palmer Jockey underwear ad, but I just ate.)
 

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I went to Chick-fil-a out of curiosity even though I don't agree with the CEO. The staff was friendlier than normal for a fast food place, but I found the food pretty much inedible.
 
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SkyDog58 said:
Who here is actually influenced by celebrity endorsements? Do you actually buy a product because some dumb jock or actor, etc. endorses it? If so, why?

Are you willing to pay more for a pair of athletic shoes or other item because some famous person's name is on it?

Do you wear jerseys with a player's name on the back?

Personally, I have never understood any of this and have never fallen prey to this sort of marketing but it must obviously impact a large enough number of people for the companies to pay celebs the big bucks that they do. I also wonder if the folks who do walk around wearing another person's name on their back are more likely to throw money away on products hyped by these same people.

:dunno:
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Funny how you think you are not influenced by celebrity endorsements. By the looks of this thread you have succeeded in bringing up new and 30 year old ads, and the people who bought their products. :lol:
 
A lot of interesting comments and a few real funny ones. Here is how I feel about it.

Celebs have next to zero impact on my decision making. There may be a few exceptions but those would be a matter of someone recommending a specialty product that falls under their area of expertise but even then I would be at least a little suspect as to the veracity of the endorsement. My consideration of their product endorsement is simply one of respecting their expertise rather than their celebrity status or me being enamored with them. When it comes to advertising I am influenced by facts such as performance numbers, features, cost, personal taste, etc. I am not going to buy a product simply because a certain person pushes it. So I truly believe that I am influenced very little by celebrity if at all.

While I do have a few favorite actors, several favorite musicians and a couple of athletes I enjoy watching, I basically just enjoy their own product which is their performance or the show they put on, not the person themselves. I have no interest in their personal lives or in supporting them by buying their personally endorsed products or their personal merchandise.

As far as wearing a player’s jersey, it is something that I have never done and to be honest I think it is a little weird for a grown man to wear another man's name on his back. To me it is sort of like the girls back in high school who would wear the jerseys or letter jacket of the guy they were blowing. The only time in my life that I ever wore a clothing item that represented a sports team of any sort was when I was in college 35 years ago and even then it was more for the school than the sports team and certainly not for a particular player.

Now I do have a large number of aviation related t-shirts and hats. Is that the same? I don’t think so as they represent an activity that I personally am active in, not one that I am just vicariously experiencing. The closest I come to having something related to a celebrity is a Kirby Chambliss Red Bull Racing hat that I was given though it just sits in my closet.

Anyway, my initial post grew out of a conversation that some coworkers and me were having at work awhile back about this same subject and then the thread about the Budweiser commercial reminded me of it. One thing for certain, human nature and behavior can be rather interesting.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Celebs have next to zero impact on my decision making.
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Judging by the huge $ that corporations pay for those endorsements, and for product placement in movies and TV, there must certainly be a healthy return on the investment. So somebody must be impacted by it.

I'm pretty sure that Shaquille O'Neal and Peyton Manning don't drive Buicks. I might even pay money to watch Blake Griffin try to get into our out of a Kia. And we know Tiger Woods wasn't driving a Buick that November night a few years ago (it was an Escalade).
 
A lot of folks saying commercials w/ celebrities don't get them to buy a product. But we're not talking about rushing out to buy a Buick because Tiger's their spokesperson. We're talking about noticing a commercial because Tiger is in it.

Of the pilots here, whose ears wouldn't perk up if they glanced at the tv to find Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, etc. advertising Cirrus, Piper or Cessna? And that's why they use celebrities.

I like LL Bean and Eddie Bauer khakis and jeans. If I saw an ad with a celebrity I like for Eddie Bauer, yeah I may lean more that direction when it's time to replace a pair.
 
Somebody who makes a lot of money doing something is paid a lot of money to say the Heroic Muffler Bearings are the greatest in the world. That's supposed to mean something?:rolleyes:

Cheers
 
X3 Skier said:
Somebody who makes a lot of money doing something is paid a lot of money to say the Heroic Muffler Bearings are the greatest in the world. That's supposed to mean something?:rolleyes:
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Even more puzzling to me is buying a pair of sneakers at an exponentially higher price because they have the name of [insert athlete's name here] on them, compared to a pair of generic sneakers of equal quality.

Guess I'm just an old guy who doesn't understand this stuff.
 
Pilawt said:
Judging by the huge $ that corporations pay for those endorsements, and for product placement in movies and TV, there must certainly be a healthy return on the investment. So somebody must be impacted by it.
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alternate explanation: The marketing pukes are really good at convincing companies to buy advertising.
 
Gerhardt said:
A lot of folks saying commercials w/ celebrities don't get them to buy a product. But we're not talking about rushing out to buy a Buick because Tiger's their spokesperson. We're talking about noticing a commercial because Tiger is in it.
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Or it might inspire some to change the channel.

Gerhardt said:
Of the pilots here, whose ears wouldn't perk up if they glanced at the tv to find Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, etc. advertising Cirrus, Piper or Cessna? And that's why they use celebrities.
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I think we would perk up if we saw any airplane commercial, regardless of who was in it.

Gerhardt said:
I like LL Bean and Eddie Bauer khakis and jeans. If I saw an ad with a celebrity I like for Eddie Bauer, yeah I may lean more that direction when it's time to replace a pair.
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Why? What does their endorsement change about the product?
 
docmirror said:
Apparently the CEO of the fast food place does. He goes out of his way to poke the secular or gay bear, on more than one occasion. No one asked his opinion, he just tossed the thigh on the gravy himself - so to speak. then, rather than stick to his guns, his public affairs guy walked it back and said they will have no more comment.
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No one asked his opinion? Really? I thought that's what people do in interviews. How it all started: http://www.bpnews.net/38271
Interesting enough, after his little public snog to the LGBT, I decided I liked the fact he stood up, and I went there a couple times. I found the chicken bland and a bit rubbery, my drink was 99% ice and the fried potatoes were pretty soggy. No offense to his religion but I found his food almost inedible.
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I'm sure there are a few people other than the two in this thread who would criticize Chick fil A's food and service, but not many. It is, after all, the most profitable restaurant chain in the US, even though it's only open 85% as much as its competitors.
 
There's a Chick fil A I drive past every day. I grab a chicken breakfast biscuit every now and then. Pretty good breakfast snack, and it is hard to think of any place that has friendlier employees.
 
Lindberg said:
I'm sure there are a few people other than the two in this thread who would criticize Chick fil A's food and service, but not many. It is, after all, the most profitable restaurant chain in the US, even though it's only open 85% as much as its competitors.
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This makes sense now. They're hours are shorter, their prices are competitive but they are the most profitable chain. Sort of explains the food content, now doesn't it? :yes:
 
They're profitable at smaller hours/volume because they sell overpriced chicken to a more monied demographic. It hasn't been called "the Target of chicken" or "white people chicken" in the past for no reason.

Their emphasis on friendly approach to customer service is pretty refreshing and keeps people appeased. I see nothing wrong with their approach.
 
I could care less, also look at super marketed items like Beats by Dre, super crappy headphones, over hyped and priced, yet they sell like crazy.



On a nice note, I am glad that Harrison Ford is trying to be a voice for GA.
 
Everskyward said:
I went to Chick-fil-a out of curiosity even though I don't agree with the CEO. The staff was friendlier than normal for a fast food place, but I found the food pretty much inedible.
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I thought I was the only one that thought that, worst chicken sandwich ever.
 
hindsight2020 said:
They're profitable at smaller hours/volume because they sell overpriced chicken to a more monied demographic. It hasn't been called "the Target of chicken" or "white people chicken" in the past for no reason.
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Who calls them "the Target of chicken? The only Google results are for this thread. Who is "the Wal-Mart of chicken"?
 
docmirror said:
This makes sense now. They're hours are shorter, their prices are competitive but they are the most profitable chain. Sort of explains the food content, now doesn't it? :yes:
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Its because they do more volume in less time because the restaurants are always packed. It has nothing to do with lower quality ingredients if that is what you are inferring. It is no secret why they are the most successful, they simple have the very best combination of, service, price, food quality and cleanliness in the business. Is it gourmet chicken? No, but it is as good as you will find in the fast food market.
 
mikeinbama said:
Its because they do more volume in less time because the restaurants are always packed.
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Well, I can't argue because I have no facts to argue with. If you are saying their volume is higher per restaurant than BK, Subway or McD on fewer hours, I guess I believe you.
 
docmirror said:
Well, I can't argue because I have no facts to argue with. If you are saying their volume is higher per restaurant than BK, Subway or McD on fewer hours, I guess I believe you.
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Purely anecdotal on my part, but this is the SZ and I cant let facts get in the way of a good story. I have no evidence to back up my claim, it is my belief, but I cant state it as fact. So this stands as my correction.
 
mikeinbama said:
Purely anecdotal on my part, but this is the SZ and I cant let facts get in the way of a good story. I have no evidence to back up my claim, it is my belief, but I cant state it as fact. So this stands as my correction.
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Actually this is not the SZ.

Just for curiosity I researched this.

What Forbes has to say on the matter...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolti...d-restaurantchains-that-rake-in-2m-per-store/

1. Chick-fil-A
2. Krispy Kreme
3. McDonalds
4. Panera Bread
5. Jason's Deli
6. Chipotle
7. Whataburger

Of those, I would choose 4, 5, or 6 if looking for someplace to eat. Granted, they are not as inexpensive as some others but that is not my prime concern when choosing someplace to eat.
 
Chick fil A franchises spend a lot of time and money being involved in the community. They stay very visible because of fundraisers, family nights, and other activities that give back to the community, and they get some very loyal customers as a result.
 
Matthew said:
Chick fil A franchises spend a lot of time and money being involved in the community. They stay very visible because of fundraisers, family nights, and other activities that give back to the community, and they get some very loyal customers as a result.
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I guess it depends on what community. I don't see a large presence here, although I'll admit that it's not something I would notice.
 
Matthew said:
Chick fil A franchises spend a lot of time and money being involved in the community.
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I've always wondered about things like that. Like Mari, I never noticed any money being thrown back to the community, but I'm sure it's done behind the scenes. Target says they give 5% back - that's millions every year just in our one store. We have dozens of businesses in town that say they do the same thing so I wonder where it's all going.
 
Gerhardt said:
I've always wondered about things like that. Like Mari, I never noticed any money being thrown back to the community, but I'm sure it's done behind the scenes. Target says they give 5% back - that's millions every year just in our one store. We have dozens of businesses in town that say they do the same thing so I wonder where it's all going.
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The only thing I can think of is that community events and non-profits are often sponsored by various companies. I'll admit that I rarely look at the sponsor list...
 
Everskyward said:
I guess it depends on what community. I don't see a large presence here, although I'll admit that it's not something I would notice.
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Gerhardt said:
I've always wondered about things like that. Like Mari, I never noticed any money being thrown back to the community, but I'm sure it's done behind the scenes. Target says they give 5% back - that's millions every year just in our one store. We have dozens of businesses in town that say they do the same thing so I wonder where it's all going.
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Everskyward said:
The only thing I can think of is that community events and non-profits are often sponsored by various companies. I'll admit that I rarely look at the sponsor list...
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It must depend on the franchise owner. Our local place is always having some event or getting involved at some school function or fundraiser. I think this is encouraged by corporate, but it sounds like some franchises are more active than others.

edit: I just looked at the Facebook page for our local CFA. Turns out I've been missing out on Free Breakfast Tuesdays for a while. Other nights are kid's nights with face painting and dinner specials, other nights they invite the local PD to stop by and mingle with the kids, they also sponsor the local college basketball program, and I've seen them involved in other local events, too. Maybe McDonald's does a lot of the same thing, but for some reason when CFA does it it seems like it's coming more from the local business than from corporate.
 
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Matthew said:
There's a Chick fil A I drive past every day. I grab a chicken breakfast biscuit every now and then. Pretty good breakfast snack, and it is hard to think of any place that has friendlier employees.
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You will find that across the board on every one of their restaurants. They seem to set a tone at the top that permeates the employees. You could go across the street to a McDonalds and have an employee grunt at you, or have a same-age employee at Chick-Fil-A treat you with a smile and a kind word. It's a sunning difference. One reason is that they always have an adult managing the store.

Another restaurant that has that attitude of service with a smile is Culver's.
 
I had no problem with the service, which was friendly and fast, just the food...
 
nddons said:
You will find that across the board on every one of their restaurants. They seem to set a tone at the top that permeates the employees. You could go across the street to a McDonalds and have an employee grunt at you, or have a same-age employee at Chick-Fil-A treat you with a smile and a kind word. It's a sunning difference. One reason is that they always have an adult managing the store.

Another restaurant that has that attitude of service with a smile is Culver's.
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We have a Culver's here too.

And you are right, I'm sure the employees are encouraged to be friendly, and they are.

I stopped at Culver's Sunday night around 9pm on my way home from MCI (KC International). Same teenage kids behind the counter that you'll see at McDs, but they smile, act professional, and are actually friendly to each other. It's a place where so many of those kids are getting their first job experience, and rather than grunt at you they do genuinely seem like they are glad to be there.

I rarely go inside CFA, I generally drive through once or twice a month for a breakfast biscuit. They never say, "How may I help you?", they always say, "How may I serve you?" Maybe it's semantics, but it does seem a little more formal. I remember the video that knucklehead ambushed the CFA drive through girl with. Back when the CFA owner was being beat up for his choice of charities he donated to, some guy decided to rant at the girl at the drive through about how evil and hateful CFA was. She held her own, stayed calm and polite. That's what I have seen from every CFA employee I've run across.

My local McD's: It's always a rush, the staff always seems like they just want to get you in and out as quickly as possible. Too many don't speak english very well so there always seems to be a lot of tension between the counter help and managers whenever one has a question for the other and neither speak the same language, and neither language they do speak is english. I can't fault the language problem on the employees, but the whole experience seems to be to generate sales and quotas. Nobody seems happy.
 
nddons said:
I think the food is excellent.
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Looks like people here are pretty split on that. People don't all have the same taste in food. For example, I'm not particularly fond of cole slaw...
 
Everskyward said:
Actually this is not the SZ.

Just for curiosity I researched this.

What Forbes has to say on the matter...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolti...d-restaurantchains-that-rake-in-2m-per-store/

1. Chick-fil-A
2. Krispy Kreme
3. McDonalds
4. Panera Bread
5. Jason's Deli
6. Chipotle
7. Whataburger

Of those, I would choose 4, 5, or 6 if looking for someplace to eat. Granted, they are not as inexpensive as some others but that is not my prime concern when choosing someplace to eat.
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There ya go. Chick is doing it right. Interesting the story shows a marked decline after the CEO went after the LGBT folks in 2012. I like the stores, and I like their promo with those weird cows. Catchy, and they used to toss those little bean toy cows at games. Good business sense obviously. Sadly, the chicken was second rate, and the potatoes were squishy. I'll pass.
 
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