Celebrity Endorsments
 

So, I consider myself a capitalist and I don't really think that celebrities "owe" us anything and should be allowed to do whatever they want.

But for some reason Beyonce's Pepsi commercial drives me nuts. I am not really saying she should stop but sometimes I wonder how much money these people really need. I mean I think between her and Jay-Z they are multi-millionaires and I think with the African-American community's obesity rising at an alarming rate she would reconsider her endorsement when so many people look up to her.

While I understand that this is American and she can do whatever she wants I just wish celebrities would take more care about their position of power in the global community.

Okay rant over! :carrot:

I'm trying to think if that was what we saw last night during the fireworks show concert thing....Is she dancing infront of a mirror? We usually always have kids tv on here, and we put that on and my kids were still up to watch the fireworks and during that commercial DH turned it. Our almost 6 year old looked a little amazed at her outfits and dancing, so we opted for the PBS channel with Neil Dimond!! lol

Sorry I can't really offer my opinion. I think many celebs just see the $$ and that's it.

As far as Beyonce is concern, she is supposed to release a new album sometimes this year (if I remember correctly). So if she doesn't probably really doesn't need to money from ads, it's still an awesome publicity for her upcoming album.

But I do get your point, sometimes I'm a bit ''... but why are they doing this''. Katy Perry did some endorsment for ProActic a while ago and I was a bit astonished to see her in that. But again, maybe there is some subconscious marketing thing going on ''see, I have bad skin JUST LIKE YOUUU, you can sooo relate to me, so buy my albums'' ;)

It's all about the money.

I get that it is all about money but I guess I wish she cared more about her fans. But it is her life and she can do what she wants...

I get more annoyed at our culture for viewing entertainers as role models and experts especially on random subjects and products... Why do we as a society care what a musician drinks?

At least a skincare product makes some kind of sense.

I'm not sure a musician owes her fans anything but good music.

Society cares what musicians drink because companies pay celebrities to endorse them. Most ads are targeted at young kids because most people by age 18 are either Coca-Cola drinkers or Pepsi drinkers. Pepsi is targeting young kids because they are susceptible to that sort of thing. I mean when I was young if Britney Spears did something I went ga-ga over it. That is just the kids are! :D

If there could be legislation about celebrity endorsement I would be all over it but it will never happen. I just think it would be nice if we all took better care of each as a society and stopped telling our children that they don't owe anyone anything. I know that is not what you meant but we do buy her albums, go to her concerts, buy her products and it would be nice if she cared enough back. Is she obligated? Nope, but I still think the world would be a better place if people did feel obligated! :hug:

I completely agree with this. I get more miffed when its a health issue. Like because someone is an actor now they feel their qualified to give their opinion on health, disease and medications or whatnot...The only actor I know that is qualified to do that is that guy from the Hangover movies. I've only seen the first one and I don;t know the guys name but he's an MD in real life..

No, companies pay celebrities to endorse their products BECAUSE society cares what celebrities do.

If we taught our children to not care, to not be celebrity or brand conscious, companies would be wasting their money.

Celebrities are walking endorsements because we care. Chihuahua breeders didn't pay Paris Hilton to carry her mini dog around in her purse as a fashion accessory, and yet it triggered a small dog fad of such proportion that animal shelters around the country are overflowing with the cast-offs when the fun of the fad has worn off.

Celebrities are people, sometimes very flawed people - often stupid, selfish, self-destructive people who just happen to have a talent our society deems worthy of emulating. That we want to emulate singers, fashion icons, sports stars and not scientists, doctors, and teachers, that's our culture's fault not companies or advertising.

We transmit those values to our children, advertising just takes advantage of our skewed priorities and reinforce what has already been taught.

It's funny that you mention this, I was just watching a documentary on Lizzie Borden and it was talking about the friends that she had after the trial (1890's). She was a big fan of the theater and hosted parties for actors and actresses. At the time society found this quite distasteful, as stage performs had about as much social status as prostitutes (and Lizzie was quite wealthy, so it was even more improper for her to socialize with them).

How times have changed!

But why does society care? Advertising companies make it look cool. I think it is much more circular than blaming any one element.

Once upon a time curvy women were considered attractive, even in the 80s and early 90s healthy thin was in. Who convinced us "Heroin chic" was in? Calvin Klein and Kate Moss and then every advertising company bombarded us with that image. Of course society didn't have to fall for I guess but typically people are unconscious of when an advertisement is affecting them.

It is just a sad, vicious cycle! :(

This. 1000 times this ^^^

I can't tell you how many of my 8th graders think they're going to be the next Kobe Bryant, Buster Posey, Kanye West, or god forbid, a Kardashian!

The advertising industry doesn't create celebrity worship, ignorance and lack of values creates celebrity worship. Teach your kids to admire people who MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, not people who happen to make money because they have a talent that sells.

I'm sure Beyonce is a fantastic person. She's certainly a great singer. However, she's done nothing with her life that I'm aware of to make me want my teen daughter admiring her. Is she working on a cure for cancer? Is she feeding children in 3rd world countries? Is she finding homes for orphans of war? Does she rush into burning buildings to save lives? Those are the people I've taught my kids to admire. Appreciating someone's talent (eg, singing voice or ability to play basketball) is different from admiring the PERSON.

That being said, for the time being we still live in a capitalist economy and as far as I'm concerned Beyonce can sell herself however she wants. She doesn't owe me, you, or the entire African American community anything. People who think she does are living under a victim mentality. Sure, you're a victim of Beyonce's greed because you're weak minded enough to drink Pepsi because Beyonce thinks it's cool. Get a grip and teach your kids some critical thinking skills!!!

*stepping off soapbox now* :soap:

First, I hate Pepsi! I am Coca-Cola girl! ;) (Maybe that is why I am mad at Beyonce)

However, there is only so much a parent can do. They are at school all day and are influenced by a wide variety elements including the internet. I am sure no one in their right mind wants anyone their kid to look up to a celebrity. But just like no parent wants their kids to have an eating disorder, be a drug addict, etc. some things are out of your control. Also, not every parent is good financial position to be on top of their kids all the time. (If you say "then they shouldn't have kids until they are ready." I completely agree.)

There are thousands of studies about the brainwashing of advertising and most people like to think they are not influenced by but most likely that are. Just look on Google Scholar for all the scientific articles from reputable agencies. Most of us on this very forum have been seduced by a number of fad diets.

I agree that Beyonce is allowed to do what she wants (I have a different opinion of advertising companies but that is separate discussion) but I merely questioning the issue of social responsibility and my irritation with her.

I hope that not only do I teach my children (if I have them) to look up to doctors, astronauts, researchers, etc. but that I can teach them to be kind to others and not take advantage of people who, yes, may be weak minded.

The thing that annoys me the most about Beyonce in this aspect is that she was very involved in the "lets move" campaign, did commercials etc. Then she turns around and signs a 50 million dollar pepsi contract. You can't say that you really care about childhood obesity and then turn around and start pushing Pepsi.

I also get annoyed when athletes promote unhealthy food.

I don't understand why it's ok to shame the bodies of thin women. Yes, there is a problem with the message being sent to women and girls, but it goes both ways--fat shaming AND thin shaming are both wrong.

Heroine Chic was the idea of looking like a skinny drug addict was attractive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin_chic

Also, no where in my comment did shame thinness, I was pointing out a fad that was created by advertisement and pretty much exulted the use of heroine. Perhaps you are either too young or old to have remembered or experienced that fad but I remember it and the completely negative affect it had on my older sisters. I don't care if you are 0 or 24 but please don't aspire to look like a drug addict.

I agree there is only so much parents can do. At home our kids are not exposed to pop culture. Actually I *think* we started watching this pepsi commercial the other night, when we had on "real" tv. The kids are always asleep if junk tv goes on, but the other night we let them stay up to watch the firework special on tv. We had it on for like 5 minutes, and finally when that commercial came on DH turned it, we both were not too happy about what was on. It wasn't the pepsi, but the sexual nature of the commercial (she's dancing in front of a mirror, right?)

Anyway our kids have no exposure to pop suture in our home because DH and I are not pop culture people. IF I put on something beside kid tv, its the science or weather channels, animal plant, that type of stuff. And we don't watch celeb tv or news infront of them. The fireworks special was a rare event and only confirmed that we cannot just put on any channel in front of the kids because there's so much crap on tv.

But my older son is going into 1st grade next year and I'm sure despite what we do at home he will be around other kids that have been taught who these celebs are, and kids that get to watch their music videos, and watch regular tv all the time, parents that have had their kids dancing to these popular music songs since they were toddlers. We listen to music in the car, but at home basically its what comes on kid tv, I sing a lot lol, and we "play" the piano (kids "play" a lot fo songs on the piano lol). I'm not doing it on purpose, I just get easily annoyed at pop culture and don't give a crap about celebs so its not in the house. I prefer my science shows :)

But I'm glad you acknowledged that even so, I can not control everything my kids see and think as they get older. I can only set an example and hope it works.

Just because it has an official name doesn't mean that it's an ok thing to say. Extreme thinness doesn't necessarily mean one is a drug addict and nor are all drug addicts thin. Putting up a body type and calling it "heroin chic" is just another form of body shaming and our culture's obsession with putting women's self worth into their looks.

I agree with you 100% that parents don't have control of what their children all of the time. A good example is one of my students from last year - she comes from an extremely hard working immigrant family that doesn't even have a TV, yet she wants to BE the next Kim Kardashian when she grows up... It's sad really.

My point isn't so much that kids shouldn't be exposed to this crap, my point is that they should be taught (through intelligent conversations with their parents) critical thinking skills. When my kids were much younger there were a couple shows they liked on Nickelodeon (before NickJr channel that axed commercials). I used to say my daughter was a marketer's dream because she wanted EVERYTHING in every commercial. So I would have conversations with her about the products and typically with a few guided questions she'd realize what was being portrayed on TV was probably not as cool in real life. She was 3 and 4. Granted, she was a SMART preschooler, but I truly believe all kids can be taught to think critically for themselves.

Heroine chic was not simply a label for extreme thinness in an otherwise healthy looking body. Heroine chic combined skeletal thinness, with pale makeup and dark circles painted under the eyes to give a near-death appearance. Facial expressions were vacant and lacking any emotion. Beautiful thin girls were made to look like corpses. Some may have been naturally thin, but to achieve the "look" they had to lose enough weight to fall into the "dangerously underweight" category.

Today those girls would be hospitalized for anorexia.



There is no healthy way to achieve the heroine chic look. Models and young girls emulating models frequently passed out and even died trying to achieve the look, so the term is not body shaming, it's cautionary - that what is considered beautiful and hip can be dangerous.

Again in my comment I never said that extreme thinness is bad and I am offended that you keep saying I am body shaming others.

The point of this thread is about the dangerous of celebrity endorsements and how advertisements control societies view of what is acceptable. Using the term is valid because I was using it as an example of how magazines, the media, etc. can control society by praising one body type over another and actually coining terms like "Heroin Chic."

Thanks, I was having trouble being eloquent trying to explain why the term wasn't be used in an offensive way.

I do think celebrities have a certain amount of responsibility in the message they put out to the world. Listen, you can't have it all. You make millions of dollars standing on your platform, spreading one message after the other, and then say "hey I'm not responsible!" It's total hypocrisy.

Now more than ever, with reality tv we have total nobodies rising to fame and fortune. I mean look at Kim from Don't be tardy. She's totally trailer trash! All she values is money, fame, hair, and treats people badly. And she's on tv for it. Most people that our children see on television are.... nobodies. They've achieved nothing whatsoever.

I enjoy pop culture as much as anyone. I get a kick out of Bravo tv. I look forward to the Oscars like it's the superbowl. But I also LOVE to watch PBS and learn, I would love it if the Pulitzer Awards were televised! I would love it if the Special Olympics were televised! I love seeing successful people make PSAs!

I think that every jobs comes with certain responsibilities. If you are the CEO of whatever company then you can't be seen around town doing illegal things because that reflects poorly on you and your company. If you are a teacher you cannot go to the local playground and make out with your boyfriend. If you are a doctor you cannot go get high with your patients. If you're in the public eye you really do have a responsibility to the people who follow you. At least I would feel so.

I work in Harlem. The amount of billboards and ads that celebrities do to sell liquor is obscene. Mostly pop and hip hop stars. Most recently I was disappointed to see a huge billboard of John Legend selling some type of liquor. Really? Like this is the kind of marketing we need in Harlem? Where all my students think they're going to grow up to be either a rap star or a basketball player - and that's it.