Shaq, Buick, and the final fracture of my faith in celebrity endorsement

During his 18-year NBA career, Shaquille O'Neal made more than US$290-million wreaking havoc on the rim, and countless more millions in endorsement deals off the court, according to basketball-reference.com.

Today he lives in a 70,000 square foot mansion in Orlando, Fla., with a life-size Superman statue on his front lawn and a garage so big it could pass for a car dealership. It houses his 30-plus luxury vehicles, including a US$400,000 Rolls Royce Phantom and a custom-stretched Lamborghini Gallardo to fit his 7-foot-1-inch frame.

And amongst those beauties, what car does he drive? A four-cylinder Buick LaCrosse hybrid. Manufactured suggested price: $34,935. That's Shaq's ride. Or at least, that's what the latest ad campaign from Buick would have you believe:

If true, Shaq's in good company, as Tiger Woods also drives a mid-range Buick, or so we were told three years ago, when the golfer lived in a $50-million estate and had a net worth said to surpass a billion dollars.

Maybe it's true; maybe Shaq and Tiger are the rare sports mega-stars that happily splurge on mansions, yachts and private jets, but tend towards fuel-efficient domestics when it comes to hitting the streets.

Maybe. Though far likely though is that Buick has yet to hear what marketing and social media experts have been repeating for eons now: Consumers crave authenticity. Or put another way, there's a big price to pay for assuming your audience is mostly made up of idiots.

Of course, Buick is hardly the first company to turn to celebrities to promote the brand and move some merchandise. And in truth, Shaq in a Buick isn't even the most unfathomable. (That would be Fletcher's Castoria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnlNS7syODc featuring Wilt Chamberlain and his mother discussing Wilt's problems with constipation).

Still, Shaq's LaCrosse commercials may well be the beginning of the end for these kinds of sponsorship deals. Within hours of the spots airing, the Twittersphere exploded with jokes and ridicule, all mocking the car maker for trying to hoist this howler on the market.

If the aim was simply exposure, then the ad has worked marvelously. It's gone viral, generating over 50,000 views on YouTube in the short time since first airing. By most marketers' accounts, that's a grand slam; unless, of course, those clicks are driven by people more interested in a good laugh than in Shaq's views on what's a suitable car for them.

Getting people to buy a Buick is, after all, the point of the ad. And sure, that process may need to be preceded by people discussing its cars, ultimately, nobody is going to plunk down $30,000, and put their family behind the wheel, if they don't believe in the brand. That's why authenticity is so critical.

The best marketers know that. Nike road Michael Jordan to billions in sales because he wore Nikes when starring on the court. Versace featured Madonna in its ads for years because her music and style resonated so well with the brand. But big stars don't drive 4-cyclinder four-doors when they go out on the town. And not only does everyone know that, they can now share the joke with all of their friends.