“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV,” is one of my favorite, most memorable line from a celebrity endorser. It was the mid-‘80s and Vicks 44 used Peter Bergman, who played Dr. Cliff Warner from my beloved soap opera, All My Children to endorse Vicks 44.
Celebrity faces have represented products and services for over 100 years. In the early years, one celebrity would characterize one product. From print material to billboards to television commercials – that one celebrity was the “face” of that brand.
Back in 2002, Oprah Winfrey aired her first “Favorite Things” show where she shared products that she felt were noteworthy to her audience . Plus, they would make great gift items. The show typically aired around the beginning of the holiday season in early November. The best part for the audience was that they were given some of those products to take home. Product categories included food favorites, beauty and body care, books, music and home and high-tech discoveries.
Several years later, the segment began to spotlight specific groups. For example, the 2004 audience members were teachers. In 2005, the audience was volunteers from Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, the show aired in May instead of November due to the nation’s economic hardships. In 2009, instead of a massive audience giveaway, Oprah held a sweepstakes where there was only one favorite things grand prize winner.
Oprah Winfrey’s product endorsement can take a business with virtually no website traffic to crashing its hosting services. It means that those businesses can count on making lots of money – just by her mentioning it – and, especially if that product is listed on her Favorite Things.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to Oprah, but if you look closely around you, in your circle of influence, you are bound to find someone Oprah-like that has a certain amount of clout.
Do your research. Ask family, friends and even other business associates if they know the “who’s who” in your area. As a matter of fact, see if there’s a “Who’s Who” local directory in your business community. These people could be corporate big wigs or they could be well-known bloggers who write product reviews. Find those people and get your product to them. For starters, ask if they would not mind reviewing your product and writing a testimonial. If you are creating an ad or commercial, ask if they would endorse your product or service.
Check out some of the products that made it to Oprah’s 2012 Favorite Things List. Who knows, one day you may be one of them (wink wink).