Tuesday, August 10, 2010

endorsement ethics?

I saw a commercial today that had Tony Stewart (Sprint Cup) working at Burger King.  It was pretty amusing, he did a good job.

I thought about that commercial and one of the best things I like about it is when you look at Tony he looks like the kind of guy who actually would eat at Burger King.  While he isn't super-fat or anything he definitely doesn't look like a body builder.

When you look at commercials with celebrities in them they are putting their name on a product and telling people that they should buy it.
I wonder what would happen if celebrities only endorsed products they actually believed in and used.

Maybe it is just me but while you watch someone like Michael Jordan endorse McDonalds and it is amusing to watch, I do wonder if he actually eats there.  Or at least if he did back when he was playing basketball.
 - Do professional athletes who care about what they eat and how in shape they are in actually eat fast food?
 - Do people who endorse shoes do it because they grew up wearing those shoes and like them or do they just wait and see who throws money and free merchandise at them?
 - Would Tiger Woods drive a Buick if they hadn't given him one and a bunch of money to drive one?  Or would he prefer a sports car or a huge SUV if he had his choice?

Maybe some of these celebrities actually believe in what they are endorsing and only take the time to choose the products in which they truly believe in or use.
But I wonder if they all do.

What are we telling people if we have people selling products they don't believe in?  That if you throw enough money at a person they will go against what they believe or think because it makes them rich?

Isn't that too big of a problem already: people doing whatever with no morals or ethics just to make a buck?

Wouldn't it be better to make a little less (especially when you already make millions) and uphold your morals and ethics?
What would the world be like if we only upheld what we believed in?  All of us.

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