Do Celebrities Actually SELL Cars? If So, Who Was The BEST And WORST At It?

The short answer is YES - if the advertising is done properly - Celebrities do indeed sell product of all type.(Otherwise - no one would spend their fees)

THERE is a Caveat though - in the advertising the PRODUCT must at least be equal to if not more than the celebrity AND the name of the product being used should figure prominently. The biggest problem with ALL advertising is that the IMPRESSION should be to remember the product - not just the celebrity or commercial involved. WE all can name LOTS of Ads where we cannot remember what product the celebrity was marketing - making the campaign worthless.

For Example- the current Lincoln Campaign - often fails to put the product first - and while people (Not us - we are car people) - remember Matthew - they forget what brand of car he was driving. THAT is where a piece of Music associated with the product often helps as well - that quick short AAMCO jingle was a great example. (Long gone) In addition - other visual cues - like the Burger King- or a Bog LOGO - also help associate the product in the AD.

It has been proven that a 30 second spot of just the LOGO and Name of a product - for the WHOLE time - (Also Verbally said) is more effective than most current advertising.

Certainly the best example of the mix of celebrity and CARs was undoubtedly the original Chrysler Cordoba commercial with Ricardo Montalban - who rolling pronunciation of the Name of the car - and of a feature - fine Corinthian Leather - was a classic. Another would be the long time association of Chevrolet - with Dinah Shore - whose emphasis on Chevrolet and Chevy in the famous jingle is still remembered by millions.

The effectiveness of Celebrity pitch-person advertising started and ended with Ricardo Montalban. It was successful because it showed him enjoying the product and actually using it - in a manner such that potential buyers could envision THEMSELVES using and enjoying the product. His buttery voice helped too! His status also didn't overshadow the car and it wasn't a stretch to actually think back in 1976 that he could have driven a Chrysler Cordoba.

Nothing since then (45 years!) has been as good.

Maybe in the 1950s through the 1970s celebrity endorsements worked but just like the supposed 17 tiers of luxury cars that may have once existed--if only in one person's mind--celebrity endorsements today are pointless. I had to look up who Dina Saur was. She needed autotune.

For me, no. For the majority of the drones out there, yes.

Only Joe Isuzu

I LOVED Joe Isuzu's commercials! So original and funny.

My home is commercial-free, so I wouldn't know about celebs plying goods.

Once again, TheSteve is better than the rest of us.

Can I be you for ten minutes, Steve?

Don't you want to know if he's sexy first? LOL