God, Family, and Budweiser: Peyton Manning’s Awkward Endorsement and the Value of an Authentic Testimonial
During the Super Bowl 50 Postgame interview, Peyton Manning, winning Denver Broncos Quarterback, listed his celebration priorities.
“First, I want to go kiss my wife and my kids.
I want to go hug my family.
I’m going to drink a lot of Budweiser tonight Tracy I promise you that.”
(Watch at around 1:14)
Wait. What?
Did he just mention Budweiser? Damn, I wonder how much he got paid for that.
That was my immediate reaction to his post game endorsement.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrities getting paid to endorse brands and products. The problem with Peyton’s postgame mention is that it didn’t come across as genuine. Are we to suppose to believe his priorities are family, God, and then Budweiser? Doubtful.
Given that this was the first postgame interview, his comment was unexpected and borderline inappropriate . Fans rolled their eyes and took to Twitter to poke fun at Peyton.
Now more than ever, consumers are more sophisticated when it comes to identifying ads, product placements, and marketing material. Generally we know when we are being sold to versus when a company is trying to create a genuine connection. Even though Budweiser states that it did not pay Peyton to mention Budweiser, it still felt like an ad given that he knew how many people were watching at that exact moment.
That’s the risk with celebrity endorsements. If the consumer doesn’t believe the celebrity is actually going to use the product or feels tricked, both the brand and celebrity lose consumer trust. And for brands, building trust with their customers is crucial to their success.
One of the best ways to build consumer trust is to let your potential customers hear from real people who they can identify with using your product in a natural context.
For example, one of the funniest, most authentic customer testimonials is James Wright’s reaction to tasting his first Patti Pie. Not only did the video go viral with over 11 million views, but pies were flying off the shelves at a pie per second rate hitting $1M mark is sales after just one week.
Getting real people to speak about their experience using your product is so important for your business. It doesn’t matter if the person is well known, what matters is when real people share captivating success stories using your product. Honesty and humor are the best way to reach customers. It resonates with people more than a plug by a celeb at an awkward time.
