Personally, I’ve never liked Jennifer Lopez; she comes across (to me) as a fake. Angelina Jolie on the other hand, has always seemed genuine; in addition to being lovely. Of course, what do I know? I’ve never met either one of them. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Forbes
By Samantha Ettus | Forbes
Jennifer Lopez’ scantily clad body wasn’t the only brand faux pas she made the night of the 2011 American Music Awards. It is her trouble laden Fiat ad that has brand watchers talking.
Until now, the criticism has been centered on whether Jenny from the Block drove the Fiat herself – she didn’t. (They used a body double.) And whether they shot on the Bronx streets where she grew up – they didn’t. (It was shot on an LA set.)
Yet the production choices are not the problems. Plenty of ads have been shot with body doubles and on movie sets. After all, Jennifer Lopez is an actress and Hollywood replaces cities with more production-friendly locations all the time.
The more disturbing aspect of this ad is its lack of authenticity. Do you believe that Jennifer Lopez drives a Fiat? Does anyone? The ad is ridiculous because it pairs a larger than life movie star, known for her expensive taste, with a vehicle that looks like a Matchbox car. Jennifer Lopez is a woman who drives to Best Buy in a Bentley.
The Fiat ad isn’t just bad for Fiat, who paid a high price tag for negative publicity; it is bad for Jennifer Lopez. It makes it clear that Lopez never defined an authenticity compass for her personal brand. She made a choice based on a paycheck with no consideration to its brand inconsistency.
Consumers today have an ultrasensitive authenticity radar. With the proliferation of social media, they have come to expect a direct connection with the people behind the brands. It’s why Ashton Kutcher is getting so much flack for inserting his team as middle man in his tweeting and it is why we don’t like seeing miscast couples in our romantic comedies.
For an authenticity role model, Fiat could have looked at Louis Vuitton. The luxury brand has masterfully weaved larger than Lopez, Angelina Jolie, into their campaign by focusing on her work in Cambodia and photographing her with a Louis Vuitton bag that she has owned for many years. This campaign was not without risks – photographing a luxury bag in a third world country posed a delicate line to straddle and the brand did it seamlessly.
Brands needed to remember that bigger is not always better. A smaller name and a legitimate fit would have moved Fiat further down the road.
Samantha Ettus is a bestselling author and speaker on personal branding. Join her on Twitter @samanthaettus or email her at samantha@samanthaettus.com.
