Thought loosens his tie a little this week with this one. Give it a read and some solid thought. Pun kind of intended, I guess.
It’s Super Bowl week in the US and in honor of all of the marketing hype that this represents, I thought I’d have some fun. I would like to comment on some celebrities that I would like to see used in advertising for the BlackBerry brand. I am a realist and so do not expect any of this to actually happen, but then again I was also foolish enough to recommend that RIM spend the big bucks on a Super Bowl ad. So, thoughtful readers, please indulge me in my flights of fantasy.
I’d like to state that what prompted my thoughts on this was reading many others say that BlackBerry needed a better consumer marketing campaign, and then almost invariably adding a recommendation to use some celebrity like Paris Hilton. In fact, I’d say that Paris Hilton by far is the most recommended celebrity spokesperson on the BlackBerry blogs (Not this one, mind you – Steve); it seems that everyone just kind of thinks of her first.
That’s natural; she’s seen as a symbol of popularity with teenagers, she was once associated with a Sidekick marketing campaign, and she is always caught in photographs using a BlackBerry. But surely, I thought, we can do better than that. Here are my suggestions at doing better:
Norah Jones. She’s classy, she’s attractive, and she is hugely popular with a large age demographic as well as a more affluent demographic. Imagine using her new single “Thinking About You†as the backdrop to an ad showing a couple BlackBerry’ing each other. If RIM wanted an attractive young female singer, she would be the one. I would take one Norah Jones over the whole list of troubled teen stars like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, et al.
Wyclef Jean. Again, another class act. He’s popular in the hip hop world and seems like he is very tech savvy.
Matthew Fox. The actor who plays Dr. Jack Shephard on the hit TV show “Lost.†Dr. Jack would be the perfect spokesperson for an ad on how, with the GPS capabilities of the 88xx/89xx series, one would never have to worry about being lost.
Masi Oka. The guy who plays the cool Japanese dude “Hiro†in the show “Heroes.†He would have major geek appeal, and his character’s time-shifting powers would be a great way to position the magic of instant push email.
The BlackBerry is known as a solid, smart device and those representing the brand also should be seen in that light. I’ve attempted to identify celebrities with quality reputations who are popular with key demographic segments of the market. Each also has a unique image and identity that would add some fun and flavor to the BlackBerry consumer brand. So now I ask you, thoughtful readers: which celebrity would you like to see in a BlackBerry ad?
Steve’s note: Who would I like to see? Jon Stewart. He’s got a wider audience than most would expect, and appeals to both the sock/sandal and flip-flop crowd. Could be a good choice. Just my two cents.
