Celebrity endorsement: the charity sector’s biggest PR opportunity or threat

Having the support of a celebrity can lift a charity or cause out of obscurity and into the hearts and minds of millions. This coming week alone, celebrities will help raise millions of pounds for good causes around the world under the Sport Relief banner.

The beauty of massive, celebrity-fronted campaigns like Sport Relief, Comic Relief or the BBC’s Children in Need is the fact that no single celebrity is bigger than the cause. While some personalities will have a bigger impact than others, it really is the team effort that secures so much support. Children in Need will undoubtedly mourn the sad loss of Sir Terry Wogan but the show will go on and continue to raise staggering amounts of money each year, thanks to the dedicated support of the general public and its diverse collection of big name celebrity supporters.

The real risk to charities is when the celebrity outshines the organisations they are supporting because, and despite best intentions, those little media darlings can occasionally go a little bit off-piste.

Let’s take a look at the following examples:

• Imagine you represent a charity that supports wildlife conservation and your celebrity spokesperson suddenly endorses big game hunting.
• Imagine you organise a music festival to raise funds for environmental organisations with a special focus on global warming and your celebrity guests gridlock London’s airports with their private jets.
• Imagine you support a health charity fronted by an athlete who has overcome a terrible illness and then fought their way back to the top of their game – only to discover that they are a drugs cheat.
• Imagine you represent a human rights organisation and your celebrity ambassador decides to abandon their role and take the money from an organisation whose working practices deeply concern you.
• Imagine you help promote animal welfare and one of your celebrity backers is seen wearing fur weeks after campaigning against it.

OK, I’ve been careful not to name any names – but, just in case you hadn’t realised, all of these “imaginary” situations have actually happened (and they shouldn’t be too hard to figure out), impacting significantly on the charities and good causes that have positioned themselves behind their less-than-reliable celebrity figureheads.

Questioning celebrity credibility

There are many, some would argue cynical, people who question the credibility of celebrity spokespeople.

Celebrities, including the actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Thomson, have recently faced criticism from the veteran news journalist (some might describe him as a TV celebrity himself) Michael Buerk for their “infantile” world view.

According to The Guardian, Buerk wrote a piece in the Radio Times stating: “As a superannuated war reporter myself I’m a little sniffy about celebs pratting around among the world’s victims.”

He continued: “I hate it when feather-bedded thesps pay flying visits to the desperate to parade their bleeding hearts and trumpet their infantile ideas on what ‘must be done’.”

Egos + money = bad decisions

In a world where celebrities’ egos are carefully massaged and money talks, it’s little wonder that some celebrities believe their world view is perhaps a little more informed than others and as a result their opinions might not always be on message.

When employing the services of a celebrity – there is always degree of risk. But hasn’t PR always been about carefully analysing risk versus opportunity and making the best situation out of both?

With a little celebrity glitz – can there ever be such a thing as “bad” news?