The mightiness of David Beckham

If you google David Beckham and brands, it is no surprise that you will get an exhaustive list of results. After all, David Beckham is a very popular and 'busy' celebrity, who has licensed his name and image to many brands in different product categories. To name a few, these brands include Adidas (sport product), Gillette (skin care product), Pepsi (soft drink), Police (fashion accessories) to Vodafone (telecommunication) and Giorgio Armani (fashion).

David Beckham has recently added two more brands to his endorsement list, namely, Yahoo and Young's frozen fish. Please see the attached picture. As a celebrity, does David Beckham still command the persuasive power that he used to enjoy? Has he not over-sold his brand name to the extent that he, as a celebrity, has lost its persuasive power? Looking at the brands mentioned earlier, he does not seem to be very selective of which brand(s) he will or will not endorse. Instead, he seems to be a 'brand prostitute', who is happily willing to offer his 'service' (i.e. his name and image) to any company that can sign a big fat cheque.

Many marketing texts identify that the persuasive power of a celebrity can lie on three domains: credibility; attractiveness; and expertise. David Beckham is a talented soccer player and, thus, he is a natural choice for sport brands like Adidas. He is also fairly good looking and always dress well (as seen in magazines and television) and, thus, he seems a good choice for fashion brands like Giorgio Armani. But, what does he know about online search engine and frozen food? It does not seem a good fit between David Beckham and these product categories?

During the FIFA period, some companies (e.g. Yahoo and Young's) seem to believe that David Beckham can truly help to promote the brand awareness and stimulate the sales of their products. To verify if this is the case, I will be very keen to look at their sales figures and talk to their customers. These companies do not seem to give much thought about the 'good fit' between David Beckham and their products. Is David Beckham the only celebrity that companies can use to promote their products during FIFA? Is David Beckham is as mighty as he appears to be?