Perfect mis-match

I would like to expand on the point made by Rachel Sprong of TMW where she stated that successful partnerships using celebrities as “brand ambassadors” occur when the celebrity has a genuine interest and enthusiasm in the brand (“Finding the perfect match”, MW 1 April). The opposite to this can be potentially very damaging indeed.

Harrington
Harrington: Optical Express link

A recent example of this is Optical Express, which recently ran an advertising campaign featuring its new brand ambassador, golfer Padraig Harrington, who is double Open champion.

What Optical Express has not acknowledged is that Padraig Harrington achieved his remarkable success from 2004 after having treatment at the Wellington Eye Clinic in Dublin. Not Optical Express.

Padraig Harrington was so pleased with his treatment at the Wellington Eye Clinic that he is shown on its website opening a new clinic in 2007 and attributing his success to the technology and the staff.

Both Optical Express and Padraig Harrington appear foolhardy at best in agreeing to this sort of brand ambassador campaign.

Helen Andrews Splash Marketing