Stop putting your CEO in your ads

Source: Dollar Shave Club

“Unless the CEO is unusually unpretentious and personable, his or her appearance in an ad may look like a grab for the customer’s money.” Tracy Arrington and Matthew Frederick said this in their book 101 Things I Learned in Advertising School.

I think that viral Dollar Shave Club ad did a lot of companies dirty. Seeing Michael Dubin waltz around his warehouse cracking edgy jokes made many other founders think they could do the same thing. Pair this with a corporate culture that idolizes success and CEOs, we get founders who want to be in all their ads, and employees who are dying to make that happen. 

Here’s the catch: 99% of founders and CEOs are not good on camera. The Venn diagram of good on-camera talent and effective business leaders is razor-thin. It may not look that hard, but that’s only because the people who are good at it make it look easy. Michael Dubin studied improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade. If you were playing basketball instead of performing in your high school’s Christmas play, you’re probably not that guy, pal.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for founders within content. To tell a story about their origins that only they can tell, sure, founders are fine. For internal, inspirational content, they’re great. As a spokesperson or voice-over for advertising content? You can do better. 

It’s not just about getting energetic ad reads that sell more products (although, that certainly should be enough). It’s about creating a relatable feeling for consumers. Your marketing team might be asking you to be in the content (because they admire you) (because they want your job) but that doesn’t mean the rest of your consumer base admires you. Positive sentiment toward successful, wealthy CEOs is waning amongst common consumers. Brands that win make customers feel like they are the hero, not the CEO.