Brand ambassadors have been used by companies for hundreds of years to promote their products. In the 1960s, fictional cartoon characters were popular brand ambassadors that appealed to children who then influenced their parents' purchasing. The 1970s saw the rise of youthful brand ambassadors singing catchy jingles in commercials. In the 1980s, supermodels commanded high salaries to promote products. The 1990s saw the rise of musicians and fashion designers as brand ambassadors appealing to Generation X. Social media influencers became desirable brand ambassadors in the 2000s for their ability to garner large online followings. Current trends have companies replacing older celebrity brand ambassadors with younger ones to appeal to millennials.

1. Brand Ambassadors Over the Decades
From the 1960’s to the Present
By Julie Rutland

2. Market influencers have been around for hundreds of years,
but the 1960’s had a large target audience with the Baby Boomer
generation. Children’s shows and cartoons were popular, and
companies utilized fictional characters in their advertisements to grab
children’s attentions, who in turn went to their parents to purchase
the items they saw on television.
arket influencers have been around for hundreds of years, but the 1960’s had a
large audience with the Baby Boomer’s. Children’s shows and cartoon were
popular, and companies utilized fictional characters in their advertisements to
grab children’s attentions, who in turn went to their parents to purchase the
items they saw.
Left to right:
Elsie the Cow -
Milk
The Koolaid Man -
Fruit-aids
Tony the Tiger -
Breakfast Cereal

3. “Jingles”, a short tune that could easily be remembered
that included a company’s slogan or catchphrase led to
one of the most legendary commercials of all time and
used the 1970’s youth culture as their brand
ambassadors.
“I’d Like to Teach the
World to Sing”
Recorded by The New
Seekers, a popular British
brand, was rewritten to
include Coca-Cola’s slogan.
“It’s the Real Thing”.
The commercial used 500
young adults, representing
different cultures, singing the
jingle on a hillside.

4. The 1980’s saw the rise of the supermodel, who commanded
high salaries to tout a company’s product.
Cindy Crawford for
Pepsi
Brooke Shields for
Calvin Klein jeans
Christie Brinkley for
Cover Girl Cosmetics

5. Major changes came to advertising in the 1990’s with the birth of the
internet, globalization and Generation X. Brand ambassadors came
from music videos, featuring rappers with their “Hip Hop” style of dress,
and lead the fashion scene with global designers Gucci (Italy), Chanel
(France), and Karl Lagerfeld (United States).
Gucci designs
Pharrel Williams for Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld and Kanye West

6. The new Millenium introduced the world to the Social Media Brand Ambassador.
Marketing oneself and gathering an immense number of fans on platforms such as
MySpace and Facebook, or having a personal blog could make an unknown person (or cat) a
desirable brand ambassador.
Kate Upton for
Sports Illustrated
Grumpy Cat for
Skechers
The Kardashians for Pepsi, Sears, Calvin Klein
Jeans, Bongo Clothing, Midori Liquor

7. 2010 to 2019
The current trend has been for companies to replace their brand ambassadors with younger celebrities
to appeal to the millenials, who don’t necessarily have the disposable income to
afford the company’s products.
Estee Lauder has replaced British actress
Elizabeth Hurley with model Kendall Jenner
Swiss watchmaker Tag Heur has replaced
actress Uma Thurman with model Cara
Delevingne

8. Future Brand Ambassadors
George Clooney for
Nespresso
Style Icon Iris Apfel with her Barbie
twin, for Mattel.
An aging population, with money to spend and a penchant for the
good life, has seen the return of former icons as brand ambassadors.
Future brand ambassadors?

9. Bad Brand Ambassadors
Not all brand ambassadors have been good for a company’s sales.
Some have caused a company to do some serious damage control.
Jared Fogle for Subway,
convicted of having sex
with a minor.
Model Kate Moss lost contracts with
Burberry, Chanel and H&M when she
was photographed abusing cocaine.
Former football star O.J. Simpson
was dropped by Hertz car rentals
when spousal abuse rumors began.

10. Just For Fun
Some of the world’s most recognizable brand ambassadors
Ronald McDonald for
McDonald’s Mickey Mouse for
Disney
Colonel Sanders for
Kentucky Fried Chicken