3.1 Message source
In this section you will think about the source contained within the message itself and consider whose voice is present in the promotional message? What are they telling us about the brand? And from what position of authority?
Sometimes, through the use of a simple voice-over, the source remains an absent presence – heard but not seen. Although, even here, marketers might use a recognisable voice to create a connection to the audience. Well-known actors with distinctive voices are frequently employed in this capacity. Examples of actors whose distinctive voices have been used in voice-overs include Stephen Fry, Morgan Freeman and Joanna Lumley.
There are also several different ‘personas’ that can be employed as the source of a message. Common personas include: ‘the expert’, ‘the endorser’ and ‘the everyday persona’.
The expert
The ‘expert’ persona is a frequently employed source in which a designated expert (or spokesperson) communicates the use, value or function of a brand.
In early advertising, the ‘white coat’ was a common prop employed to establish the scientific legitimacy of the expert who was used to talk about everything from toothpaste to cleaning products.
The symbolic purpose of the expert persona is that they have assumed knowledge, experience and credibility to talk about a particular brand, frequently offering testimonials attesting to its value or functions.
A contemporary example would be a dentist’s endorsement of the qualities of a particular toothpaste, as in the following advert for Sensodyne:
Video 3 Sensodyne ‘Can Sensitive Teeth be Repaired?’ advert [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] (make sure to open this link in a new tab/window so you can easily return to this page).
The endorser
The endorser has been a popular persona since the beginnings of modern advertising in the nineteenth century. Queen Victoria, for example, was an early endorser for Cadbury’s Cocoa.
Associating the brand with someone the target audience identifies with or aspires to be like can create an emotional connection between the brand and the audience. Today, endorsers are frequently drawn from the world of celebrity, which you will examine in more detail later in this section.
There can also be an element of overlap between experts and endorsers – these are not fixed categories. Usain Bolt could be an expert as well as an endorser when promoting particular brands of running shoes or sportswear, as in this campaign for Puma:
Video 4 Puma Ignite ‘Usain Bolt’s Shoe of Choice’ advert (make sure to open this link in a new tab/window so you can easily return to this page).
The everyday persona
Partly as a backlash against the perceived overuse of celebrity endorsements, more and more brands today employ allegedly ‘everyday’ people to promote their brand.
These messages often take the form of ‘on the street’ interviews with ‘real people’ or similarly constructed scenarios. The idea here is that people are more likely to believe and connect with ‘someone like us’ than the aspirational figure of a celebrity.
Another common type of everyday persona is the use of employees to communicate the organisation’s offerings. This has been a popular strategy in the personal finance sector, used by high-street banks such as The Co-operative Bank and Halifax. One of the most famous of these even launched the employee into a celebrity role – Howard Brown from Halifax:
Video 5 The original ‘Howard of Halifax’ advert (make sure to open this link in a new tab/window so you can easily return to this page).