Celebrity campaigns can soar or stumble. This year, industry experts say the difference came down to purpose, execution and how well the talent served the idea.
Affinity ECD Matt Batten said some celebrities can be polarising or outshine the brand, so collaborations only work when there’s “genuine purpose”.
Batten praised Jude Law’s appearance in Uber Eats UK’s When you’ve done enough as a “marvellous, hyperbolic demonstration of the campaign platform.”
But not every pairing hit the mark.
“Robert Irwin fronting Tourism Australia was an obvious pairing to the point of cliché,” he told Mediaweek.
“But to have Bobby lounging in Bonds undies in a garden chair in a backyard with a funnel web spider was so quintessentially Aussie it slams the brand prop home and harks back to Sick’em Rex.”
Maker Street Studios founder Casey Midgley singled out Liquid Death’s ‘Clone Me, You Bastards’ campaign with Ozzy Osbourne.
He called it a “perfectly timed piece of unhinged brand theatre” and an “outrageous farewell for one of music’s most enduring and everlasting cultural disruptors.”
“Only 10 cans were produced, drunk and crushed in the hands of the madman himself, each priced at USD $450 and sealed in an airtight, lab-quality container complete with his autograph,” he said.
“The lucky few who got their hands on one now own a literal piece of Ozzy forever.”
Liquid Death ran with a genetic study suggesting Osbourne carried unique mutations that may explain his notorious resilience to alcohol and other substances.
Midgley noted it’s not the first time the brand has worked with celebrities.
“The fact this campaign launched weeks before Ozzy’s final breath is what puts this one on a completely new playing field,” he said.
“And that’s what makes it so good. It’s bold, culturally fluent, mischievous and completely committed to the bit.”
Havas Host head of strategy Phil Pickering believes a great idea is still at the core of any effective celebrity-fronted work.
He cited Dutch Barn Vodka’s ad featuring Ricky Gervais as a standout, and PayPal’s spot with Will Ferrell as a missed opportunity.
Pickering added that celebrity usually goes wrong because the famous face is replacing the idea rather than strengthening it.
“The best pairings feel inseparable; you could not swap the talent out without breaking the concept,” he said.
“That is why they cut through. Celebrity should be a creative multiplier, not a shortcut.”
Convo Media CEO Monique Harris said creative has to bring the entertainment factor in today’s content-first ad world.
She explained that the best work felt culturally tuned in, visually impactful, and like mini-narratives that fit alongside the content audiences are already consuming.
“Celebrities and creators offer instant recognition and a shortcut to cultural context, which matters when you’ve got half a second to hook someone,” she said.
“When their personality, humour or lived experience aligns with the message, the work becomes memorable instead of just expensive.”
Harris added that there were a number of “standout” examples this year.
“Uber Eats with Cher – surreal, unexpected and totally bonkers in the best way,” she said.
“And the Brooklyn Coffee Shop team’s satirical social series, which brilliantly blurs the line between new-world celebrity – the creator – and content you actually want to watch.”