Earlier this year, Liam Neeson famously starred in Supercell’s “Angry Neeson” commercial for the Clash of Clans game, which debuted during the Super Bowl. The brilliant ad spot played upon Neeson’s penchant for gruff movie roles and re-contextualized his image into that of a grumpy coffee house gamer.
A new rating system from Nielsen examined countless celebrities who appeared in 2015 commercials. Nielsen has crafted “N-Scores,” which rate a celebrity’s trustworthiness to consumers. The score ranks likeability, awareness, and influence, and Neeson comes out on top. He and Pierce Brosnan tie with an unexplained 94 score, but Neeson ranks highest in the influence category. In other words, people are buying whatever Neeson is selling:
By looking at the effectiveness of celebrity pitchmen, the company best known for television ratings will now compete with Marketing Evaluations Inc., a company that produces the better-known Q Score, a measurement of public attitudes toward well-known figures.
Besides attaching scores to celebrity endorsers, Nielsen intends to offer marketers detailed information about the personalities and habits of people who respond well to each celebrity so they can better match pitchmen and products, said Chad Dreas, Nielsen’s managing director of media analytics.
“What do they buy? Where do they shop? What do they watch?” said Dreas, describing the details Nielsen intends to sell.
Neeson, who has been featured in an ad for Supercell Games, is viewed positively by 78 percent of Americans who know him, Nielsen said. Brosnan and Matthew McConaughey, both featured in car commercials recently, also scored well in Nielsens’ measurement.
Other high-scoring celebrities in the influence department included Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Garner, Jim Parsons, J.K. Simmons, and Matthew McConaughey. Whether these celebs are selling cosmetics or cars, people trust their endorsements.
Neeson may have won the Nielsen contest, but McConaughey’s commercials win in the notoriety department. McConaughey is almost as well-known for his Lincoln spots as for his movie and television roles. Lincoln sales have surged since McConaughey stepped up with his deadpan delivery. Who knew that a Texas drawl and, “I just like it,” could work such magic?
A replay certainly couldn’t hurt.
https://youtu.be/u4lklnkk8SU
(Via A.V. Club and Associated Press)
