Celebrity Acquisition

We’ve all witnessed the horrific commercials featuring severely malnourished children from around the world begging for aid and food, yet hunger is not limited to places outside of the United States and therefore Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger relief organization, is taking a stand to help our country’s impoverished.  With the economy, more and more people are in need of help and these summer months pose a greater challenge as children on summer break lose access to school meal programs.  Feeding America reports that one in eight Americans struggle with hunger which is why celebrities are lending their star power to the cause.  Outlined below are two recent partnerships that work to draw attention to this important issue and work to help make a difference for the 36 million Americans (a 30% increase!) struggling with hunger.

General Mills’ Hamburger Helper has partnered with Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress Beyoncé to help Feeding America deliver more than 3.5 million meals to local food banks through the Show Your Helping Hand campaign.  The campaign was launched yesterday in conjunction with the singer’s “I am…” tour entering the United States. 

Beyoncé at the "Show Your Helping Hand” hunger relief initiative kickoff at Madison Square Garden - June 22, 2009

Fans can support the campaign in three ways: by submitting codes from specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper online at www.showyourhelpinghand.com; by donating non-perishable food items at Beyoncé’s “I AM…” tour concerts in select cities across the US; or by logging on to www.showyourhelpinghand.com  to donate money. 

The second partnership was announced yesterday between the Kellogg Company and Ashton Kutcher’s social media studio, Katalyst.  The partnership will raise awareness of the growing hunger epidemic in the United States and encourage consumers to donate to Feeding America at the Kellogg Cares Facebook Page. For consumer donations of $5 or more to Feeding America, Kellogg will reward them with Kellogg cereal coupons worth a total of $5.  The coupon offer and consumer donation program will run until September 17, 2009, or until the $1 million goal of total consumer donations is reached and coupons are distributed to 200,000 consumers. 

Kellogg Cares Facebook page

 Another aspect of generating awareness about the campaign is yesterday’s launch of a new video formulated through user-generated content submitted by people moved to end hunger following requests that @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) and @mrskutcher (Demi Moore) posted on their respective Twitter feeds and Facebook Pages.  Actress Demi Moore produced the video and it can be viewed here.  The video encourages viewers to visit the Kellogg Cares Facebook page where they can make a monetary donation to Feeding America, become a fan of the Facebook page and find out about other ways they can help fight hunger in their local communities.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen many more celebrities becoming involved in the cause space because they can be a useful tactic to raise awareness for the campaign and engage new consumers. We hope that these celebrity-driven campaigns can encourage Americans to become active advocates in the fight against hunger in the United States.    

P.S. President Obama has also starred in a PSA for Feeding America which was produced in February and can be viewed here.  

The Daily News magazine is celebrating their 90^th Anniversary by asking New York celebrities to share their favorite NY spot.  Heidi Klum, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Bacon and Soledad O’Brien are just some of the 90 celebs to dish out on their favorite restaurant, gym, store, playground and night club to readers of Daily News.  The interactive map can be viewed on the Daily News website.  This celebrity city guide is part of a growing ‘celebrity tourism’ trend and gives some small unknown New York places a positive and credible plug on a big stage.

Numerous states have used their hometown celebrities to boost their image as an American vacation destination.  California’s ad features Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, First Lady Maria Shriver, Clint Eastwood and Teri Hatcher all promoting visiting the state of California.  Houston, Texas, has also used celebrities to promote their city, to not only vacationers, but new businesses and residents.  Their ads featuring Beyonce Knowles and George W. Bush can be found in the Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, Continental Airlines’ in-flight magazine. 

Branding a city or state can be difficult because of all the aspects and intricacies that contribute to the place, but using a celebrity or multiple different celebrities that can appeal to a wide range of people can make for a successful campaign.

When it comes to summer, a few key ingredients come to mind- barbeques, country music, vacations, concerts and American pride.  All of these great summer aspects have been featured in well timed and relevant summer 2009 sweepstakes.

What goes into a great backyard party?  A grill? Check. Some barbeque sauce?  Check.  A never ending playlist of country music?  Check.   KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce, Kingsford Charcoal and country singer Keith Urban have paired up for the Me, You and a BBQ summer sweepstakes.  The Grand Prize winner will win a VIP trip to country music’s home, Nashville, TN for them and three friends.  They will also attend a private Backyard BBQ with Keith Urban.  BBQ and country fans alike can enter here now through July 31^st.

Keith Urban teams up with KC Masterpiece and Kingsford charcoal for Me, You and a BBQ sweepstakes.

Rascal Flatts and Hershey’s have teamed up to promote more summer loves-country music, campfires, s’mores and block parties.  Check out our June Talent Email for more info on the Hershey’s Rocks Your Block sweepstakes. Rascal Flatts is also touring the nation with JC Penny’s American Living brand, promoting new summer clothes, country music and the land of the free.  Fans enter for a chance to meet Rascal Flatts by taking an online quiz in the fastest time.  Test your knowledge of the country music’s hottest group here.     

Summer is always an opportune time for family vacations and trips to the movie theater.  Marriott and JW Marriott are taking advantage of the vacation season and are promoting a sweepstakes with the summer comedy, Land of the Lost.  An animation of Will Ferrell is included on the Marriott’s website.  Vacationers that stay at any Marriott or JW Marriott for a weekend, now through September 7^th, will get 4 free movie tickets to Land of the Lost and will be automatically entered in a contest to win a trip to LA. 

Each of these contests combine summer favorites with current celebrities to promote their fun summer sweepstakes, making for an unforgettable fan experience.

Tennessee had a busy week, with the CMA Music Fest, thousands of Bonnaroo groupies and the 2009 CMT Music Awards.  The opening revealed an unlikely duet between rapper T-Pain and country-pop star Taylor Swift.  

Taylor helped hype the show when she revealed via twitter: “If I said I was in the studio with T-Pain, would you believe me?”  And she made her presence known after the opening act, as she won video of the year and female video of the year with “Our Song.”  

Taylor Swift and T-Pain surprise the audience with their opening act.

The CMT music awards were smart to take advantage of the buzz that these two artists would create. The fact that both these artists are popular in two different music cultures allowed the producers of the CMT to reach a larger audience than just their target market (country fans).  Country and rap fans alike enjoyed the pair’s performance.  It will be interesting to see how many hits the video will get on YouTube.

PS-  Be sure to check out all the winners and performances of the 2009 CMT Music Awards.

Suave Skin has teamed up with actress and celebrity mom Holly Robinson Peete to promote their new product, Suave Naturals Wild Cherry Blossom Indulgent Body Wash.  The product launch was yesterday, where Robinson Peete did a media tour and encouraged mothers to “Shower Yourself Beautiful” small indulgences that make them feel beautiful every day.  As she explains: “My children are my number one priority, but I know that taking the time to treat myself gives me the extra boost I need to be the best mom I can be.  That’s why I’m teaming up with Suave Skin to remind moms everywhere that it’s the small indulgences in life that go a long way to making you feel beautiful every day!”

Holly Robinson Peete promotes Suave's "Shower Yourself Beautiful" campaign

Aside from using the new product, mothers everywhere can enter to win a chance to shower themselves beautiful through The Shower Yourself Beautiful Sweepstakes running from June 15^th through July 27^th, 2009.  Moms can visit ShowerYourselfBeautiful.com to create a registry for a chance to instantly win prizes and each week a new registry will be featured including themes such as bathroom, bedroom, and vacation.  One week will also feature Robinson Peete’s own registry, made up of some of her favorite small indulgences like an in-shower CD player, an ultra-soft bathrobe and a digital picture frame.   After creating a registry, users are automatically entered to have a chance to win the ultimate at home shower for herself and her friends courtesy of SuaveSkin. ShowerYourselfBeautiful.com will also feature a special video from Robinson Peete as well as a fun game for users to learn about Suave products.

In addition to all the traditional media outlets that campaigns utilize, celebrities are taking to their blogs, Twitter and Facebook to get brand messaging out to their fans.  This provides consumers with an intimate way to interact with celebrities who are endorsing products.  For the first time, the general public is allowed to leave comments and get responses from celebrities.  The newest celebrity to utilize social media is Alison Sweeney with her endorsement of EA Sports Active. 

Sweeney is the newest celebrity mom to open up about how she lost her baby weight.  Sweeney, host of The Biggest Loser and an actress on Days of Our Lives was back to work just eight days after giving birth to her second child earlier this year.  She first took to her website in March, praising the EA Sports Active package made for the Nintendo Wii in helping her lose weight: “When do I have time to go to the gym? It really is like a personal trainer in a box. It’s perfect. I recommend it to all mothers!”

Alison Sweeney and Ellen DeGeneres show off their Wii skills during Ellen

Just yesterday, she made headlines on people.com reiterating her love for the Wii.  She explains that she no longer has to find a babysitter to watch her kids while she exercises because her son can play along as well.  She elaborates: “It’s just a good example of how you can really get it done at home.  You don’t need to have a big fancy gym membership. One of the things we talk about on The Biggest Loser all the time is just how difficult it is financially to lose weight sometimes. And that isn’t an excuse anymore. There are really reasonable options.”

She has also promoted the EA Sports Active package through the use of her Twitter handle where for example, she posted yesterday: “Gotta love the www.EASportsActive.com love!”  She also gave fans a personal perspective on her participation in the 30 Day EA Sports Active Challenge on her blog.

Not only was Sweeney a natural fit for endorsing this product because of her connection to the fitness world from Biggest Loser, she also has the ability to connect with fans through the online space, an added bonus for all campaigns.

After hitting a few huge three pointers last night, The Lakers’ starting guard Derek Fisher has grabbed the media’s attention.  And just this past week, FRS announced their new partnership with the athlete. He will join Lance Armstrong and Brooke Hanson on the FRS Company’s “Health Energy” team.  FRS obviously timed the announcement well, as there is naturally more buzz surrounding him in and around The Finals. 

While Kobe Bryant is obviously the face of the team, marketers understand that his fame comes with a very large endorsement price.  FRS was smart to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the Lakers by enlisting Fisher and avoiding Bryant’s high fees. And since Fisher is already an avid user of the product, the partnership appears organic.

The Lakers' Derek Fisher celebrates their win last night.

This deal makes sense for both FRS and Fisher, since FRS Company’s target market is athletes and people living an active lifestyle. With an already impressive roster of spokespeople (including Lance Armstrong and his official strength and conditioning Coach Peter Park) adding a basketball star will broaden their audience reach.  We’d also like to see them start using influencers (such as a celebrity’s personal trainer) as spokespeople.

The Smell of Success

Following in the footsteps of rappers Common and Diddy, musical artists Kanye West and Rihanna have inked deals with Jay Z’s licensing company, Iconic Fragrances, to launch their signature scents in summer 2010.  The financial structure includes royalties, profit sharing and company stock.  Givenchy has tapped actress Uma Thurman to represent a to-be-determined women’s fragrance that will launch in September.  Actress Audrey Tautou has succeeded Nicole Kidman as the front woman for Chanel Number 5 perfume, the biggest selling scent of all time.  Coincidentally, Tautou portrays Coco Chanel in a French biopic that will premiere in the U.S. this September.  Henry Cavill from Showtime’s The Tudors, appears in advertisements for Black, the newest fragrance launched by Dunhill Fragrance.

 Family Matters

Throughout the year, Sketchers has run its “Nothing Compares to Family” promotion featuring some of today’s popular celebrity families.  The latest addition to the group is Cesar Millan of National Geographic’s Dog Whisperer, who is featured in print advertisements with his wife, two sons and six dogs.  Proceeds from their involvement will go to The Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation.  Pop singer Christina Aguilera and TV personality Samantha Harris have teamed up with the Family Violence Prevention Fund to promote the RESPECT! campaign.  The campaign is a new social action campaign to end violence against women, children, and families by promoting the need to give respect through teaching children how to demonstrate kindness, manors, how to take a stand or how to model loving relationships.  In early May, Aguilera auctioned off concert tickets and a meet-and-greet opportunity on chartiybuzz.com to raise funds.  Barilla is also stressing loving family relationships and has enlisted actress Lori Loughlin to help provide tips for getting children involved in mealtime and ways to create easy, delicious recipes for the entire family.  Barilla is sponsoring a contest that gives Americans the opportunity to showcase their kitchen creativity while incorporating Barilla Piccolini as part of a meal. One grand prize winner will receive $25,000 in tuition money.  Former soap opera star and celebrity dad, Mark Consuelos, has partnered with Lever 2000 for their “Make Every Touch Count” campaign.  They have launched a website, makeeverytouchcount.com, where users can enter a family photo and the grand prize winner will appear in a special Lever 2000 magazine ad and receive a new family dining set from BHG Furniture Collection.

Cesar Milan and family for Skechers.

 The Sweet Stuff

Mars Snackfood US partnered with television star Neil Patrick Harris for the Real Chocolate Relief Act, an effort to improve the world’s mood through candy.  Harris helped pass out free chocolate bars in Times Square, as a part of the company’s mission to give away a quarter-of-a-million full-size packages of real chocolate on Free Chocolate Fridays. Visit realchocolate.com to get one of the 250,000 coupons that Hershey’s will be giving away every Friday through September.  Hershey’s has joined forces with country music stars Rascal Flatts to promote their chocolate bars as the key ingredient of s’mores, the perfect barbeque dessert.  Hershey’s is sponsoring the group’s summer concert tour in conjunction with national TV commercials and the Hershey’s S’Mores Rocks Your Block promotion.  The promotion gives fans the opportunity to win a block party featuring the country stars by entering to win at hersheys.com/rascalflatts.  30 Rock star Jane Krakowski shows off her sweet tooth with Breyer’s “Smooth and Dairy” campaign.  Krakowski stars in webisodes that feature a modern take on the iconic romance films, Gone with the Wind and King Kong.  They can be viewed at smoothanddreamy.com, where consumers can also star in the films by uploading their own photo or enter to win an eight day trip to Hollywood.

More and more Hollywood celebrities are taking to the stage to star in Broadway shows.  Is it because their shows are on summer hiatus and they want to occupy themselves?  For instance, Chandra Wilson of Grey’s Anatomy will return to Broadway for her third time to headline in Chicago this summer.  She’ll grace the Great White Way from June 8 to July 5, before returning to film her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC hit medical drama.  Or does a deeper rationale exist for why Hollywood stars take to the stage?  Can they broaden their appeal and branch out of their niche fan base which makes them marketable to a larger community? 

 Starring in unconventional roles works to expand one’s fan base.  For example Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe has officially earned his stripes as a legitimate adult actor after starring in Equus.  His Broadway stunt helped him transition from a teen actor to an actor who can secure more diverse roles.  After his Harry Potter movie series ends, we are sure to see him in more eclectic roles since he has proved himself on stage.  Theatergoers took note of his talent when he was awarded the prize for Best Leading Actor in a Play in the 7^th Annual Theatre Fans’ Choice Awards.  Although appearing nude in the role was risky, he solidified his potential for future work and therefore the possibility of losing youthful fans was well worth the benefit.  Marcia Gay Harden also expanded her fan base and enhanced her resume by winning a Tony award this past Sunday through her role in God of Carnage.  Her future work options are bound to expand after she takes her final bow on Broadway mid November.    

 Yet on the other hand, Will Ferrell stuck to his typical comedic role when he starred as George Bush in this year’s You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.  Ferrell gained favor and reminded people of what he does best.  Similarly, Christine Applegate utilized her role in Sweet Charityto showcase her trademark bubbly personality and danced with passion even after she broke her foot halfway through the show’s run.  During and after the show, she successfully reignited buzz about her throughout Hollywood.

Marcia Gay Harden with her Tony award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for God of Carnage (6/7/09).

 Anne Hathaway also has used Broadway to retain the spotlight after the completion of her most recent project, Rachel Getting Married, through the announcement of her role in this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park performance starring as Viola in the Twelfth Night.  Fans can see her perform for free from June 10 to July 12^that the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.  Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will follow in her footsteps when they take to the stage this fall as two cops in the drama A Steady Rain, the NY Post reported late May.  Additionally Grammy winning singer Ashanti, will take her stage debut as Dorothy in the summer production of The Wiz that runs from June 12 - July 15th.  It will be interesting to see which of the above celebrities ink endorsement deals after their trips to Broadway. 

 When reviewing which Hollywood stars are making the transition to Broadway this summer and in the near future, contemplate the roles they are playing and how it will affect the types of roles that will be offered to them in the future.  With the lingering possibility of actor strikes and the ability to capture a new fan base and reignite buzz, the list of celebrities joining Broadway will continue to flourish.

With Father’s Day just around the corner, we typically see quite a bit of media covering the holiday in these two weeks prior.   This year, Craftsman beat everyone to the punch by enlisting the help of Archie Manning (the father of Football’s First Family).  Archie appeared on Fox & Friends this morning, where he promoted Craftsman’s “Man-A-Cure” contest in which ten deserving dads will win a prize pack of Craftsman tools (worth $1,000).  And keeping with the Father’s Day theme, Archie’s Super Bowl MVP son Eli called in to surprise his dad on the show. 

Archie Manning and Craftsman partner to give ten dads $1,000 of tools.

Archie and the program fit well (and organically) together-what dad doesn’t like tools? And who’s better to promote Father’s Day than the father of an iconic football family (and The National Father’s Day Council’s Father of the Year)?  Kudos to Craftsman for being ahead of the game with Archie and the contest. 

PS- Be sure to enter your dad to win a “Man-A-Cure.”