The Power of CEOs

While times are tough, consumers are not making as many purchases and are concerned about how they spend every dollar. In these tough times, it’s interesting to see how consumers feel about their favorite brands and what comes to play when they actually make a purchase. Is price the major factor? Are they loyal to the brand and purchase its’ products despite the dismal economy? Do they pay attention to advertising? And if they do pay attention to advertising, do they like it when CEOs participate?

Over the years, there have been countless companies that have used CEOs in their advertising campaign. CEOs such as, Charles Schwab, Dave Thomas of Wendy’s, Frank Perdue of Perdue Farms, Dan Hesse of Sprint and Warren Buffet of Geico have either appeared on television or in print campaigns. While prominent and confident CEOs have taken the spotlight in recent years, an Adweek article has raised the red flag that companies should rethink this strategy.

“These CEOs have chosen an interesting time to be in the spotlight. With the news filled with images of overpaid executives flying corporate jets to Washington, D.C., as they plead for government assistance to keep their companies afloat, no CEO at a major corporation-even those not related to the banking or car industries-can count on any goodwill coming his or her way,” said Eleftheria Parpis, the writer of the article. Additionally the article refers to a recent Opinion Dynamics poll from Fox News. The poll found that 73% of respondents felt corporate CEOs were not honest or ethical.

Despite the poll and the state of the economy, several companies are still using high-level executives in their advertising campaigns. As I was reading this article, I found myself wavering back and forth as to whether I thought it was a good idea to have CEOs front and center. As a worker bee in the corporate world, I admire high level executives and firmly believe their statements and opinions when it comes to the company’s mission and dealing with the ever-changing world around us. On the other hand, I can understand how so many consumers are weary of CEOs based on the recent events pertaining to the financial world. The CEO is the ultimate decision-maker and is supposed to have a tight grip on all aspects of the business. This type of thinking and assumption is why so many Americans, including myself, are confused and frustrated as to how things got so bad.

Advertising and media agencies will continue to be creative when it comes to building campaigns for their clients. Although using CEOs might have been successful in the past, there is evidence that people are weary and suspicious of these high-level executives. One can only hope that the agency is well informed about the rumblings on the street and are aware of how the consumers feel about the company and industry as a whole. A true test would be asking consumers how they feel about certain companies and CEOs to gauge interest. Putting aside pictures in an ad campaign, I can promise you that if people saw certain CEOs of financial institutions out on the street they might not be too happy.

Not all CEOs have sneaky and selfish goals up their sleeves. Case in point, Dave Thomas built his multi-billion dollar fast-food restaurant chain from the ground up, earning him a reputation as one of the most successful and loved entrepreneurs in American history. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002–more than any other person in television history. Now something has got to be said for a CEO that has appeared that many times in commercials.

In memory of Dave Thomas, here is an oldie but goody: