I wrote not long ago about my theory that all advertising is about the playing or preying on the aspirations of the the consumer. Advertising – the aspirational mirror.
The New York Times article Bob Dylan’s Latest Gig: Making Whiskey by Ben Sisario has the most succinct explanation of how celebrities are used in advertising.
Here it is:
The marketing of celebrity alcohol tends to lean on the perceived lifestyle of its mascots. Drink George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila, for example — sold last year to the beverage giant Diageo for up to $1 billion — and acquire some of his movie-star glamour. Want to party like Jay-Z? Buy an $850 Armand de Brignac.
“It’s about fairy dust,” said Michael Stone, the chairman of the brand licensing agency Beanstalk, who is not involved with Heaven’s Door. “People are looking for some of the fairy dust to be sprinkled on them from that celebrity’s lifestyle.”
and here’s even more insight into the use of a celebrity’s image in aspirational advertising, in this case Bob Dylan’s recently released Heaven’s Gate whiskey:
“Dylan has these qualities that actually work well for a whiskey,” Mr. Bushala said. “He has great authenticity. He is a quintessential American. He does things the way he wants to do them. I think these are good attributes for a super-premium whiskey as well.”
So there you have it founder’s leverage your customers’ aspirations to sell you product or service. It may be a simple and mundane as a CIO’s desire to secure his company’s data. Just make sure you fully understand exactly what your customers aspire to and how your product or service addresses that aspiration. Yep, feel free to call this process aspiration-product fit.
Mentorphile 
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