Yue Yunpeng and Yu Qian lead the new trend of advertising endorsements: say goodbye to traffic and embrace stories

Yue Yunpeng shot a commercial for Apple, Yu Qian collaborated with MINI, and Jia Ling became the spokesperson for Prada and Lululemon, all showing a new trend in advertising endorsements.

There have been several advertisements that have been discussed a lot in the advertising circle recently.

The first one is the cooperative advertisement between Yue Yunpeng and Apple.

Xiao Yueyue shot an advertisement for Apple, combining funny characters with technology, which is a big contrast in itself. It can be said that it brings its own traffic and topics.

In the advertisement, he interpreted serious topics in the technology field such as security and privacy in a light-hearted and humorous way, allowing the audience to get the core selling point of the product while laughing.

For example, in the second short film, Xiao Yueyue wanted to keep the record of his browsing of face-slimming information secret from everyone, thus bringing up the importance of Safari's incognito browsing function.

This interesting interpretation method not only brings the brand closer to consumers, but also makes the advertising content more vivid and interesting.

The second one is the advertisement of Yu Qian’s cooperation with MINI.

Yu Qian's Beijing culture and MINI's fashion style seem to have nothing in common, but they collide to create wonderful sparks.

In the advertisement, Yu Qian describes the performance and features of MINI in his unique Beijing accent. This contrasting combination not only makes the audience laugh, but also deepens their impression of the MINI brand.

The third one is Jia Ling, who recently became the spokesperson for Prada and lululemon.

Since the hit drama "Hot as Hell", Jia Ling's image has changed drastically. She appeared in the Prada advertisement with a brand new image, with the slogan "Don't follow the trend, just be yourself", which to a certain extent demonstrated the brand's attitude.

Her collaboration with Lululemon, through her personal experience of weight loss, perfectly conveys the brand's philosophy of healthy living.

The characteristics of these advertisements are that the artists have stories and characteristics, but they themselves do not have that high traffic (except Jia Ling who is a bit special). This may indicate a trend in celebrity marketing: brands no longer only focus on traffic stars, but pay more attention to the personal experience and characteristics of the spokesperson, and their fit with the brand tone.

1. Small trends in celebrity marketing: stories, life and characteristics of endorsements

Since the concept of traffic stars was born, they have quickly swept the commercial market with their huge fan traffic and become the darlings of major brands.
Their every move seems to trigger a huge wave of exposure and sales.

However, with the introduction of a series of policies and regulations, as well as some negative incidents involving traffic stars, the market has gradually shown reflection on this model.

2021 can be said to be a turning point in the commercial value of traffic stars.

In May 2021, with the advancement of the "Clear Operation" and the introduction of relevant policies, the entertainment ecology has undergone a profound transformation.

At the same time, some personal scandals of traffic stars, such as the Wu Moufan incident in 2021, not only caused a devastating blow to their personal image, but also caused considerable losses to the cooperating brands. This has caused brands to re-examine the risks of cooperating with traffic stars and seek more reliable spokespersons.

While the commercial value of traffic stars has been frustrated, another force has begun to rise again, that is, powerful stars. With their superb acting skills and works, they have won the recognition and respect of the audience and the favor of brands.

According to the "White Paper on Star Brand Cooperation Market Trends" jointly released by "China Broadcasting Association × Digital Storytelling", stars who speak with their works and professional abilities, such as Yu Hewei, have begun to be favored by brands and consumers. Their professional charm has become the new favorite of brand cooperation.

In addition to "professional" charm, brands also pay more attention to the positive image and social influence of celebrities when choosing spokespersons. For example, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, many brands chose to cooperate with sports stars, such as Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, and achieved good results.

Entgroup’s “2023-2024 Celebrity Marketing Market and Trend Observation” further confirmed this trend.

The report shows that the proportion of middle-aged powerful stars aged 36-45 has increased, and senior national powerful stars such as Wu Yanmei have also attracted much attention. This shows that when choosing spokespersons, brands are no longer limited to age, but pay more attention to the life experience and stories of stars, hoping to use the influence of stars to convey brand values.

In 2023, Zhang Songwen became a new star with great popularity thanks to his starring role in the TV series "Kuang Bi". In April, Xiaomi chose to cooperate with Zhang Songwen because of his calm and restrained temperament, which is in line with the "pragmatic and innovative" tone of the Xiaomi brand.

In July, Prada chose to cooperate with the Chinese women's football team, which was the first time Prada cooperated with a sports team. This cooperation reflects Prada's support for women's power and is consistent with the independent and confident brand image that Prada has always pursued.

In September, Huawei released a new mobile phone and chose to cooperate with Andy Lau. In the cooperative advertisement, Andy Lau told his acting career and life story, which combined with the innovative spirit of Huawei products resonated with the audience.

During the 2024 Spring Festival, Apple cooperated with Fan Wei, using Fan Wei's outstanding performance in "The Long Season" to convey Apple's persistence in innovation and humanistic care.

Next are the examples of Yue Yunpeng, Yu Qian and Jia Ling at the beginning of the article.

Although traffic stars still have a huge market, brands have gradually realized that cooperating with stars who have stories, life experiences and are in line with the brand's temperament is the correct strategy to shape the brand image and create long-term brand influence.

2. What can a brand gain from story, life and characteristic endorsements?

There is no need to prove that talented stars can help brands. In an era without traffic stars, the commercial market is dominated by actors with good acting skills. So in the traffic era, what different values ​​can they bring to brands?

1. Give brand connotation

Marketing guru Lindstrom once said in his book "Brand Brainwashing": "Using a cream, perfume or eye shadow endorsed by a movie star can make us feel closer to our favorite celebrity and everything we envy... We absorb the celebrity's values ​​and characteristics - along with his or her pride, attitude, talent, ego, composure or charm. Simply put, we actually become that celebrity."

One of the values ​​of celebrity endorsements is that they impart the celebrity's characteristics to the brand, making the brand image fuller and more meaningful. This can be seen as a shortcut to building a brand image.

The endorsement of powerful stars is more like telling a story that can resonate with people. Their life experiences, professional achievements and personal charm have become part of the brand story, allowing consumers to buy a life attitude and values ​​while buying products.

This kind of deep connection is difficult for traffic stars to provide.

However, traffic stars often lack representative works and their personal images are relatively single. You can get traffic from traffic stars, but when the endorsement ends, you can't remember what the traffic star has left for the brand.

Take LV as an example, it uses a high-profile strategy to advertise outdoors, on TV, in fashion and financial magazines, which arouses consumers' desire. The advertisements that have impressed you in recent years must be those that are rich in depth.

For example, in 2007, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s advertisement “Travel makes us face ourselves”.

For example, in 2009, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, LV invited three astronauts to star in its own advertisement. The advertisement combined the exploration spirit of the moon landing team members with the brand connotation, and regarded chasing the moon as a journey, perfectly interpreting the brand's spirit of endless exploration.

The "immortal sayings" of boxing champion Ali and his grandson.

The above is not a complete list. Others who have appeared in LV advertisements include football king Pele, musician Keith Richards, 007 actor Sean Connery, U2 lead singer Bono, Madonna, etc.

From this we can discover a problem. Those who shoot commercials for LV are not just celebrities. They all have rich life experiences, which will give the brand more connotation and meaning.

Gorbachev's "weathering storms", the astronauts' exploration, Bono's resistance, Madonna's unconventionality, and Ali's tenacity all give the brand a more mature and richer image.

In 2018, Wu Xfan became the spokesperson for LV. I still can’t remember what connotation he gave to the LV brand.

2. Increase brand audience reach

In recent years, brand rejuvenation has been repeatedly put on the agenda, which is why traffic stars frequently appear in commercial endorsements. Traffic stars help brands achieve rejuvenation through their huge young fan base and attract a large number of young consumers.

However, if a brand wants to gain a larger market, it must face a wider range of people. It is not enough to rely solely on traffic stars.

The fan base of traffic stars is mainly concentrated among young people. Although they can bring considerable sales and short-term popularity, their influence is relatively limited. In contrast, powerful stars have a wider audience base. They can not only attract young audiences, but also influence middle-aged and even elderly groups.

For example, when a brand chooses X-Men as its spokesperson, it can quickly attract a large number of young people to buy products, but some older consumers may not be familiar with X-Men, which limits the brand's market coverage.

On the contrary, if Andy Lau is chosen as the spokesperson, although he may not have such a large young fan base, his influence is more extensive. Andy Lau is not only well-known among young people, but also an idol of several generations. Even "my mother knows him."

This broad audience base can help the brand establish its image among different age groups and social classes and increase its market coverage.

Apple did not choose a popular star, but instead cooperated with Xiao Yueyue because of his national recognition. After all, Apple itself has no shortage of young users, and it wants more people, including middle-aged people, to know its advantages in security and privacy.

3. Carry out long-term brand image building project

The establishment and maintenance of a brand is a long-term project. Just like brands like Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble, they have established a stable brand recognition in the minds of consumers after decades or even hundreds of years of efforts. In this process, it is crucial to continuously enrich the brand's personality and enhance the brand image.

Using traffic stars for endorsements is a short-term strategy, usually used for new product launches or new brands entering the market to quickly increase exposure and promote sales. However, this strategy can only bring short-term benefits, because the popularity and attention of traffic stars tend to decline over time and cannot continuously improve brand value.

In contrast, using powerful celebrities for endorsements is a more long-term strategy. Powerful celebrities usually have unique temperaments and solid public images, which can give the brand a lasting personality and image. By cooperating with these celebrities for a long time, brands can continuously strengthen the brand's recognizability and uniqueness, and ultimately form a stable and profound brand recognition in the minds of consumers.

Many brands have recognized this and have used the same star for many consecutive years to consolidate their brand image. For example, Coca-Cola has long cooperated with Taylor Swift to continuously enhance brand recognition and trust. For example, you can understand that Li Ning has long endorsed the Li Ning brand, interpreting the "anything is possible" spirit of sports.

This long-term strategy not only helps to perpetuate the brand personality, but also establishes a unique brand image in the market.

4. High cost performance and low risk

First, let’s talk about high cost performance.

In the current market, the endorsement fees of traffic stars are very high because they are in high demand and limited in number. In contrast, the endorsement fees of powerful stars are more reasonable.

In 2023, I consulted Fan Wei about the cooperation price and was surprised to find that his cooperation fee was so low.

Secondly, choosing talented celebrities as spokespersons also means lower risks.

Traffic stars have two sides. On the one hand, they can quickly bring attention and sales, but on the other hand, they may also be accompanied by controversy and risks. Once a brand chooses to cooperate with a traffic star, it must be prepared to face possible negative public opinion and controversy.

This year, the Meiji Landou endorsed by Wang Moubo was revealed to contain trans fatty acids. Soon, the same problem was revealed for Dove endorsed by a certain Zhan. In the comments of these contents, there were a lot of arguments among fans. Such arguments and melee pushed the brand's voice to a peak, but this voice was by no means positive.

In comparison, talented stars usually gain recognition through their professional abilities and works. Their public image is relatively stable and less controversial, so the risk of working with them is relatively low.

This stability is a guarantee for the brand, helping it maintain its positive image and avoid unnecessary risks and losses. For example, Huawei's cooperation with Andy Lau is definitely a prudent and risk-controlled behavior.

The success of Xiao Yueyue, Yu Qian and other powerful stars in the commercial market shows that celebrity marketing is changing. Although traffic stars are still the center of the stage, the value of stars with experience, stories and characteristics is being recognized by more and more brands.

This trend also suggests that brands need to pay more attention to personalized and customized cooperation models in their future marketing strategies. By cooperating with celebrities with unique stories and personal charm, brands can better touch consumers' emotions and establish a closer and more lasting connection.

Author: Xunkong;

Source public account: Xunkong’s Marketing Revelation (ID: 846631)