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Celebrities Provoke Debate Over Charity Endorsement
Celebs are double-edged sword say charities
Feb 11 2008
PR Log'Supporters are not necessarily spokespeople,' said Louise Burfitt-Dons of childrens charity Act Against Bullying debating celebrity endorsement on BBC Five Live today with programme host Phil Williams, UN World Food Programme’s Greg Barrow, TV psychiatrist Ray Peraud and Prostate Cancer’s former England player patron Andy Ripley.
Celebrities are being used increasingly to publicise campaigns. Last month England midfielder David Beckham visited Sierra Leone as a Unicef Goodwill ambassador and The Ocean’s Thirteen actor George Clooney visted the troubled Darfu region of the Sudan as his first posting as United Nations Messenger of Peace.
Critics of charity endorsement claim that many celebrities use charities as a means of garnering publicity and have little interest in the causes they represent. They can even do the cause damage.
On the subject of Jade Goody who attended an Act Against Bullying event in 2005 and then publicy bullied Shilpa Shetty in Celebrity Big Brother, Louise Burfitt-Dons said, ‘ We have had several celebrities attend our events. Jade Goody was just one of them. She was never an ambassador or even c laimed to be. Fundraising events benefit from high profile guests. They bring the photographers with them, and that tends to add a star-spangled feel to the occasion. Plus they can be articulate, good company and not camera-shy. That helps a lot.'
During the show a listener rang to thank Andy Ripley claiming that a newspaper article written by the former rugby player had prompted him to having a life-saving examination.