McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski is in the headlines after a video of him tasting the new Big Arch burger went viral. He has come under social media fire for his lack of gusto, and even arch rival Burger King took a swipe at him with a video featuring North American president Tom Curtis wolfing down the new Whopper.
The episode also brought a bigger question back into focus for advertisers: Should CEOs double up as brand endorsers?
There needs to be a strong strategic reason to make the company CEO the face of the brand, argues Nisha Sampath, managing partner at Bright Angles Consulting. It may work for a brand that needs to communicate accountability, where a CEO can bring trust and credibility that is unmatched by celebrity endorsement. “But that logic doesn’t extend to every campaign,” she adds.
A lot also depends on the scale of the business. Consumers are more forgiving of founders of a startup. “If an established company features a senior leader in its campaign, it can look like a hard sell,” observes Sampath.
Brand leaders like Sugar Cosmetics’ Vineeta Singh and MDH Masala’s Dharam Pal Gulati have successfully demonstrated this is an effective strategy. But the move can backfire if the CEO gets mired in controversy, says brand consultant Karthik Srinivasan. Kingfisher Airlines’ Vijay Mallya is a good example.
If done right though, CEOs usually come across as more authentic since they are not seen as “paid celebrities”, adds Srinivasan. “The most important thing is to consider if the CEO can ‘perform’ convincingly. The brand team should also be cognisant of the market perception of the CEO,” he says.
In the case of founder-led businesses, such a strategy can, in fact, humanise the organisation and make it more accessible, says Jeel Gandhi, CEO, Under25.
Consumers also evaluate the brand on service consistency and value. “Featuring the CEO works best as a reinforcement tool that reflects genuine conviction and accountability, rather than a marketing tactic designed for attention. Ultimately, it is about showing the audience that the brand is backed by a real person with skin in the game,” Gandhi sums up.