Does your face fit?

Twiggy and Lulu, faces from a bygone era, still have a resonance with today’s consumers. Twiggy is at the centre of Marks & Spencer’s new advertising campaign and Lulu helped promote Unilever’s Flora.

Mick Jagger graced the front page of Saga’s magazine and Bob Dylan was used to advertise something that has now slipped my mind.

Now Paul McCartney is being used by Fidelity, the US Finance company, to sell its products. "Generations have grown up with Paul McCartney," said Robert Reynolds, vice chairman and CEO of Boston-based Fidelity, in a statement. "People continue to be inspired by how he approaches life with confidence, innovation and a long-term view. He's the perfect partner for Fidelity to help investors transition to the next chapter in their lives." Give me a break!

Let’s “help investors transition to the next chapter in their lives” and along the way sell them a few bits and pieces of financial product.

Anyway, all of this raises two questions. Firstly, which faces fit and why. Secondly, why do people, who are loaded with money, still want a few extra bucks from the P&Gs and Unilevers of this world?

I cannot answer the first, although I could have a good guess. Perhaps the answer to the second question is that celebrities from yesteryear, who are now only famous for the misdemeanours or achievements of their kids, have found a new way of getting a shot of celebrity fame. Get themselves a brand. A perfect win-win situation. The brand gets the face the celebrity gets the media exposure and we get a helping hand to transition to the next chapter of our lives! Dick Stroud