Flying Stars or Famous
Failures: PR and
Celebrity Endorsement
Presented by Scott Sykes
scottsykes@36pr.com
www.36pr.com

Reward/Risk
• Rising consumerism, Chinese love luxury
brands/lifestyle
• Celebs make mistakes that can hurt a brand
• Chinese citizens more powerful than ever
• Worth all the money for KPIs?

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps
• Phelps apologized immediately and
sincerely, minimizing negative impact
• Endorsement deals unaffected (Omega,
Speedo, Subway,Visa)
• Mazda: video apology to Chinese people on
Youku
• Kellogg, could be mistake

Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi
• Zhang not strictly at fault, caught on
camera by paparazzi on private beach
• But had potential to harm reputation
• Endorsement deals with LV, Maybelline,
Mercedes, Omega unaffected

Edison Chen

Edison Chen
• Chen apologized publicly, but reputation
damage could not be undone
• His endorsement agreements with Levi’s,
Pepsi and Samsung were terminated
• He now lives in Canada

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus
• Initially said it was no big deal, eventually
apologized
• People in China and other parts of Asia
were outraged
• No endorsements in China currently
• Now likely never

Sharon Stone
• Sichuan earthquake comments, Chinese
citizens outraged
• Stone lost endorsements with Christian
Dior and others
• Her films were banned from Chinese
cinemas

French Torch Relay
Incident
• Chinese citizens banded together online to
protest what happened in France
• Top French brands in China, LV and
Carrefour were targeted, hurt reputation/
sales

Key Points
• Despite these cases, there are many many
successes
• Celeb endorsement in China still works
very well, but be careful
• Examine endorsement KPI, cost and risk
side by side

So What?
Opportunities
• B- and C-list celeb endorsement
• Digital PR/marketing
• Employee evangelism

B- and C-List Celebs
• Low cost
• Today’s B- and C-list are tomorrow’s A-list
• Hipper, edgier, appeal to young consumers
• Less paparazzi can be a benefit
• Examples: Shu Chang, Han Xue, Zhang Jun
Ning, many others

Digital PR/Marketing
• Relatively low cost
• Branded, connected, conversational
• Good supplement to low-trust traditional
marketing and advertising
• Examples: Xiaonei, Kaixin001, Doubon,
Tianya, MOP, P1.CN

Employee Evangelism
• High trust
• Low cost
• Word-of-mouth

Flying Stars or Famous
Failures: PR and
Celebrity Endorsement
Presented by Scott Sykes
scottsykes@36pr.com
www.36pr.com