Mia Hill Media

Mia Hill, USC – Master of Communication Management Student

May 31, 2020

If you’ve spent any time on social media within the last month, you’ve most likely seen the #OrderLocal Postmates advertisement for what feels like the thousandth time. Oh, you know, the one where rich celebrities encourage average U.S. consumers to order from local restaurants through the Postmates app. Although produced with good intentions, a quick scroll through comments on social media showcases just how much people hate the advertisement. 

In case you haven’t seen it, in the quick thirty-second ad, celebrities talk about how much they love to support their local restaurants through the Postmates app. Megan Rapinoe talks about how she misses her favorite spots, while Katy Perry lets you in on her go-to burger joint. Snoop Dogg shouts out the people running the businesses, and Shaun Mendes encourages you to “take care of the people in your community.” Although the message is to encourage people to support local restaurants during COVID-19, it is clouded by the use of these seemingly out-of-touch celebrities.  

Research has proven time and time again that celebrity endorsements can have negative effects on consumer spending and less influence when compared to social media influencers. Yet, companies like Postmates continue to allocate part of their marketing budget to pay celebrities that ineffectively influence consumers.

Furthermore, celebrities are not doing well in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Did Postmates not learn anything from the social media fiasco that was Gal Gadot encouraging her other rich, celebrity friends to sing along to the tune of “Imagine” by John Lennon while in their mansions, in hopes of unifying our country, which only showcased the enormous gap between celebrities and us less fortunate Americans? 

In case Postmates and other companies do not understand why celebrities should not be used in campaigns, the list below provides examples of precisely why consumers despised the use of celebrities in the Postmates ad.

1. People don’t want celebrities telling them how to spend their money.It’s similar to when you go shopping, and your rich friend tells you to “just buy it!” I can’t just buy it, Becky, I got bills to pay! For example, one YouTube user commented on the Postmates ad saying, 

“I love it when rich people give me advice on how to spend my dwindling income.” – Ben Rice

 Another user commented, 

“It’s good to see all these people rich enough to buy my entire town encourage my currently unemployed a** to support my local businesses.” – Marcus Aureily

The fact of the matter is, celebrities can afford to spend their money on non-essential items such as delivery orders that have an extra 10-15 dollars in charges tacked on to the total. Whereas millions of Americans are currently unemployed and struggling to make ends meet for the same reason restaurant owners are struggling to stay open. Therefore, it doesn’t feel right to have a financially stable person tell struggling Americans where to spend their money. 

2. Celebrities have many fans, but they also have just as many haters.Although Postmates tried to pick non-controversial celebrities, many people took issue with their choices. They even claimed they wouldn’t use the app because of the celebrities endorsing the service. One person commented on Twitter saying,

“… really @johnlegend? Just for that jerkoff alone I’ll never use postmates… @Postmates you may want to think through who you choose for spokespeople.. @katyperry isn’t helping you either..”                    – @totalbartending   

Consequently, using celebrities created a higher risk for people to dislike the Postmates ad because consumers associated their disdain for the celebrity with the brand.

3. Consumers are aware that celebrities get paid for advertisements.Although it is not known whether these celebrities were paid for the Postmates promotion, people have a preconceived notion that celebrities are cashing in on ads. People see the ad and assume they are getting paid to do something that should be out of the goodness of their hearts. One Youtube user commented,

“Why don’t you use the money you’re getting paid by Postmates to endorse their business and do it yourself[?]” D_Music_Life

Therefore, it looks as though the celebrities in the ad are taking advantage of the pandemic, and begs the question of the morality of the ad as a whole.

Whether in a pandemic or not, the three reasons shown above should be taken into consideration when debating whether to use celebrities in campaigns. Why give a reason for people to hate your brand? Drop the celebrities and save your company’s money and consumers in the end.