Ten years ago, knowing a celebrity’s brand meant knowing their songs or films. Today, however, it can also mean being aware of the brands of spirits, skincare products, or software to which they have discreetly lent their name. If you browse through the recent press coverage of any A-lister for long enough, you will find that acting and/or singing is only one aspect of the story. The fragrance, video game, fashion partnership, and, more recently, the online gambling site are all other aspects.
The Endorsement Economy Behind Every Famous Face
Endorsement campaigns have become so successful and popular that they have become a separate business in their own right. The biggest stars can earn millions of dollars for a single campaign, while even less popular celebrities can earn good money just by participating in an advertising campaign. This explains why so many celebrities participate in several projects simultaneously, rather than sticking to one as they did in the past.
Michael Jordan’s partnership with the Nike company remains highly productive, with Air Jordan sales continuing to grow even decades after the partnership began. George Clooney appeared in Nespresso adverts for several years, boosting sales.
What has changed significantly recently is the type of products that celebrities are willing to endorse. Just a few years ago, endorsing apps or games would have been considered inappropriate and beneath a star’s status, but nowadays, celebrities are not ashamed to endorse them alongside perfumes and tequila brands.
This is partly due to the way in which celebrity fame is now monetised. Films or music used to form the entirety of a celebrity’s career. But today, they may simply be a means to an end. One viral event, starring role or hosting gig can generate enough recognition to license the celebrity’s name for various products. The revenue from these licensing agreements often surpasses the income generated by the job that originally brought them to prominence. This is why a celebrity’s Instagram profile could easily resemble that of a company rather than a CV.
Where Online Casino Brands Fit Into the Celebrity Endorsement Boom
The online casino and games sites have become one of the most active categories trying to get celebrities on board for endorsement deals lately. They have started roping in musicians, comedians, and even reality show stars to be their brand ambassadors at an increasing rate over the past few years. This is based on the same principle behind all other endorsement categories. Having a known face adds instant credibility to a site that most people have never even heard of, and the celebrity makes money without releasing any new material.
For readers curious what an actual operator’s terms look like behind the ambassador photos, it’s worth checking the fine print directly rather than judging by the celebrity attached to it. Pacific Spins welcome package overview is laid out with current terms in one place: Casinos Analyzer. It tells you far more than any campaign photo does.
What Separates a Genuine Endorsement From a Paid Placement
Not all partnerships are made the same, and fans can now see through it when a celeb is promoting a brand they only use because they were paid for taking a single picture with it.
- There is actual partnership involved in other content apart from the sponsored posts.
- The partnership is communicated clearly and not hidden away behind the “#ad” tag that nobody ever notices.
- The public image of the celebrity actually goes well with the brand and not just some combination picked randomly from an Excel sheet.
- The celebrity stays loyal to the brand for more than one campaign round, not changing to its main competitor after only a few months.
- The followers of the celebrity see the partnership as something believable and not just money.
None of the above requires any special information – almost everything can be seen on the basis of how the celeb talks about the thing vs. what is written in the caption.
Who Actually Checks Whether an Ad Is Telling the Truth
The Advertising Standards Authority in New Zealand is the industry’s self-regulatory organisation. It has its own Gambling Advertising Code because gambling and casino advertisements featuring celebrities are inherently different from celebrity-driven perfume advertisements, for example. The Complaints Board was purposely established with more public than industry representatives, ensuring that complaints raised by the general public carry real weight and are not solely the responsibility of the advertisers.
This is particularly important for the type of advertisement featured in the article: a celebrity endorsement of a platform that cannot be verified by the audience. Having an organisation capable of investigating the claims made in an advertisement and determining whether they are true or false provides the audience with a definitive answer rather than the ambiguous ‘he seemed honest’.
How to Read a Celebrity Endorsement Like a Sceptic
Healthy doses of scepticism do not ruin the experience of celebrity culture; it just means that fewer people get disappointed once it becomes clear that the collaboration was exactly what it seemed to be.
- Find out whether it is mentioned that the endorsement is paid for; it is all the difference, since in this case the importance of the celebrity’s opinion decreases significantly.
- Do some research on the product/platform independently rather than relying only on the visuals provided by the campaign.
- Take note of the duration of the collaboration since several years’ cooperation says something different from a one-time collaboration.
- Check the claims made in the commercial against the Terms and Conditions of the platform, which are very unlikely to feature in the campaign itself.
- Bear in mind that the paid promotion does not mean the actual endorsement of the product/platform by the celebrity.
All of this does not require one to be cynical about celebrity culture as such but just the same degree of scepticism that one would have when looking at an ordinary ad without a celebrity face.
The Homework a Famous Face Can’t Do for You
This does not mean that all such projects are deceptive or that a celebrity’s passion is necessarily artificial. Indeed, there are many cases where the promotion is honest and connects users to useful things, and many celebrities choose brands because they like them. However, regardless of how the campaign is made, one thing a famous person cannot do is ensure the licensing is in place, check the terms, and compare them to reality – the latter is inevitable for someone watching the project rather than being paid to smile.
Casinos Analyzer specifically deals with this part of the process in relation to casinos by compiling data on the licensing status and bonus terms of each casino in advance of account creation. A recognisable face can make an unknown platform seem safe, but it is only the small print that can provide absolute certainty.
