There are a couple of ways you can use celebrities and other recognised figures in your marketing without having to pay them.
Firstly, if you’ve learned something from them, or they’ve inspired you in some way, or there is some lesson that you can draw from their actions (could be positive or negative…think Charlie Sheen of late)…
…then it’s OK to mention that. And the benefit to you is that when you mention their name, you’re more likely to attract attention.
Example, something like…
“What I Learned About Marketing From Barack Obama.”
Secondly, if a celebrity or authority figure is on record as saying something related to your product or service that can be interpreted as being supportive of that product or service in general, then again you can use that. You need to be careful with this…you can’t say they endorse your specific product or service (unless they actually do, of course).
Now, I see that chocolate maker Cadbury has landed themselves in hot water over an ad where they make reference to celebrity and fashion model Naomi Campbell…
“Cadbury Apologises Over Naomi Campbell Advert”.
The offending line was…