The Top Dog as Talking Head

Are you a fan of those TV commercials that feature the CEO as the company's spokesperson?

Over the last few decades, there have been some notable marketing successes using this approach. The ones that come immediately to mind are Orville Redenbacher, Frank Perdue, and Dave Thomas (Wendy's). I think what made each of these campaigns work was that each spokesperson/CEO was an original. Quirky and believable and amusing. They were execs that didn't take themselves too seriously and they allowed their agencies to use them in light-hearted ways. Over time, they became rather endearing and that helped make us pay attention to their marketing messages.

In today's economic climate, CEOs are generally getting bad press. They're in the news either for laying people off, needing bail outs or posting poor results. I don't think that most Americans are predisposed to like CEOs right now, so it's a particularly dicey time to use one as the centerpiece of your marketing campaign.

Here are a few companies using their CEOs as their TV spokesman today and, without fail, I think these approaches are not working.

Sprint: We see the CEO (Dan Hesse) in dark, nearly black and white, spots as he casually strolls through various Manhattan settings and tells us how cool Sprint is and invites us to join him and his company on the mobile technology highway. Nothing charming or interesting or endearing about these spots. In fact, the CEO just comes across as an egotistical guy who seems to think he's persuasive and cool. Is anyone switching to Sprint based on this campaign? I doubt it.

Community Coffee: The young fourth generation CEO of his family tells us why Community Coffee is so good. The idea here seems to be "trust me. I'm so sincere. Buy my family's coffee." I always find myself wondering, "would this guy be the CEO if his great grandfather, grandfather and Dad hadn't just handed the company over to him?" A distracting thought that definitely gets in the way of me being persuading to buy the coffee.

Papa John's Pizza: The CEO has been their spokesperson for many years. He's always been very stiff on camera. Not a natural who looks like he actually enjoys being the spokesperson. I find the spots always awkward to watch and I'm always distracted by the poor acting ability of the CEO.

I've never been personally involved in a CEO As Spokesperson campaign, but I can imagine how awkward they must be to develop and produce. If it's the CEO's idea, how do you gracefully advise him/her against the idea and keep your job? If it's your idea and the CEO turns out to be an on-camera stiff, how do you persuade him/her to give up the newly found TV fame and return to being just the behind-the-desk CEO? Difficult issues and it's got to be hard for everyone involved to maintain objectivity and do the right thing.

My advice... unless you've got a Frank Perdue or an Orville Redenbacher as your CEO, develop your marketing campaigns without using your top dog as your talking head.