Are Influencer and Celebrity Stunts Hurting Brand Integrity?

Snoop Dogg quit smoking and stunned fans who thought he was quitting a favourite pastime – smoking weed. Just a week later, this was revealed to be a stunt and ad campaign for a smokeless fire pit by Solo Stove. The ad saw Snoop Dogg say, “Snoop! Smoke is kind of your whole thing! But I'm done with it. Done with the coughing and my clothes smelling all sticky icky. I'm going smokeless.” Then came the reveal: “Solo Stove fixed fire. They take out the smoke. Clever.”

Depending on the metrics used to assess the campaign’s results, the success was variable. The Instagram post announcing him quitting garnered 4.7 million likes and 174k comments, raising brand awareness, but this didn’t translate into direct sales for the brand. 

Partnerships between brands and celebrities are nothing new and some, like Nespresso and George Clooney, have cemented their status as iconic. Others never come close and have sometimes even ended up hurting brand integrity, like in the case of the partnership between Bud Light and Dylan Mylvaney and Travis Scott and BetterHelp. The rapper partnered with BetterHelp (with the brand insisting that this wasn’t a paid relationship) to offer attendees of his fatality-causing Astroworld tour a month of free mental health support, which many saw as misguided and not offering any real value when BetterHelp frequently runs similar promotional offers with other brands. 

Perhaps, we - the industry and consumers - have begun to move past the idea that all publicity is good publicity? At a time when trust is one of the hottest commodities a brand can cultivate, misguided stunts and gimmicks could be hurting, not helping, the cause. 

Heather Griffiths, strategy director at Accomplice, thinks that ‘celebrity’ is a limited lens to see marketing through. “As a creative agency, we’ve had our fair share of celebrity briefs over the years. At their best, they amplify a brilliant idea with a personality that perfectly embodies the brand’s values. At their worst, they can feel like an unexpected guest at the brand party who didn’t get the memo. While the world of celebrity and influencers is evolving at speed, the principles of good communications remain. A worthwhile brand idea is still at the heart of effective comms, whether in broadcast TV or influencer content. And as many interns have been told in creative reviews - a celebrity is not an idea. For an idea to be successful it needs to reflect its audience, make memorable an honest truth about the brand and keep its objective in mind,” she says.

Relevance and authenticity, then, seem to be the key to getting it right - a sentiment echoed by Jack Bradley, Recipe’s social community manager. “Influencer marketing continues to grow and our agency is seeing an increase in briefs that are weighted towards this and social media. While this is an exciting time in advertising and marketing, it is one that serves as a great reminder: talent partnerships, be it a celebrity or influencer, need careful consideration, and above all, must be an authentic fit for the brand. This isn't to say that brands can't surprise audiences with a curveball, but it still needs to make sense.”

VJ Anand, executive creative director at advertising agency, VaynerMedia EMEA, sees value in the conversation Snoop Dogg started, attributing it to the star’s considerable social media following that amounts to nearly 85 million followers on Instagram and between 20-40 million on each of Facebook, TikTok, and X. “Using influencers and celebrities is common but how do you make it memorable? In this case, the clickbait that Snoop was giving up smoking was the hook. It got people curious and subsequently talking about the product. Good advertising finds the right way to talk about product benefits and this did that very well,” says VJ. 

Still, attention and effectiveness are not in a direct correlative relationship especially when it comes to long-term brand building and increased sales. VJ wants to know, “Did it work? Was it just reach or will it drive sales? Did Solo Stove research their consumers and find that the one thing that speaks to all of them is… Snoop Dogg? Time will tell and hopefully, we get to see the impact in a case study next year. For now, we know that Snoop Dogg knows how to set the internet on fire.”

“While the Snoop partnership successfully raised awareness that smokeless fire pits exist - the Solo Stove brand remained firmly in the shadows,” adds Heather. 

So, how should we analyse the impact of the campaign? For Heather, it’s all about the brand’s initial brief and objectives. “It hinges entirely on ‘did the Solo Stoves brand get etched in consumers’ minds’? Did it drive conversion? Evidently not, but it did use a memorable celebrity vehicle to introduce the innovation and populate the very top of the funnel: ultimately, people can’t seek out a product they don’t know exists. Who knows, Solo Stoves could have been a household name if the rest of the funnel had been built out more effectively.”

With audiences growing ever more discerning, brands need to tread carefully when it comes to cultivating a brand image while simultaneously evolving it. It’s by no means an easy task and sometimes requires bravery to accomplish. However, a strong sense of brand identity that permeates all layers of creative and strategic decision making empowers teams to make decisions that ultimately feel authentic to the brand and its audience, even when they appear as wild cards to start. 

“Partnering with talent for the sake of it isn't effective and in today's world of audiences being more informed regarding partnerships and endorsements, can in fact drive consumers away. The celebrity/influencer needs to have a link to what they're promoting in order for the ad to land, otherwise it's published on social media and is received by audiences as nothing more than a cash grab for the talent, and a lack of effort on the brand's part,” comments Jack.

Pointing to a successful, and authentic, celebrity and brand partnership, Jack says, “Earlier this year, American fast-food chain, Wendy's, partnered with a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City - and fast-food fanatic - Lisa Barlow. Audiences raved about this, and it opened the doors to product placement both on the show and at this year's Bravocon. Lisa, having been spotted on her respective franchise on a number of occasions with fast food, was a fantastic casting choice for Wendy's as she is their customer and in turn her audience believes there is more to the partnership than a financial transaction for content."

Whatever the campaign objective - and no matter how ‘big’ a celebrity is, Heather stresses again that “one thing can’t be taken for granted - and that’s authenticity.” She adds: “For younger consumers especially, doing a 180 on your convictions is unforgivable. Time and time again we see brands like Ben & Jerry’s win by doubling down on their position and getting comfortable with not being for everyone.”

“Celebrity partnerships should be used thoughtfully to amplify a good idea - a good idea being one anchored in the brand’s values, audience and objectives. Consumers these days are far too savvy not to see through celebrity smoke and mirrors. Even when smokeless.”